You Have to Be Willing to Understand
Disclaimer: I do not own Hakuouki Reimeiroku, any of the Hakuouki series, or any of the characters or Ibuki would have had a part in Hakuouki.
Author's Note: Thank you, Kimagure 'Aya' Author and Ainhoa11, for the reviews! I'm glad you both like it. It makes me so happy to know you like it. XD
Chapter 4
-Third Person POV with Ibuki Ryunosuke-
Ryunosuke went wandering about the city for a major part of the night before he finally settled in an alley around the outskirts of town for the night. He knew it wasn't the most comfortable place but that was the only place he could sleep. He woke up when the early morning rays of the sun hit his face and he was immediately wide awake. He got up off the ground and stood up. He had to find a place to stay. He wasn't staying in another alley. He had very little money left so he couldn't rent a room. And he had no friends that would help him. The only option he had other than hiding in a different place every night was to stay with the Shinsengumi. 'No way! Never! They'll just bind me under their rules and force me to follow them! I can't! I won't!' Ryunosuke thought as he walked out of the alley.
He walked across the street and bought one of those western apples. Honeycrisp, was it? It wasn't much for being a foreign fruit but he didn't complain. He took a bite out of the fruit as he walked down the street, ducking into alleys every time he saw a Shinsengumi group go by. 'They look like they're looking for someone.' he thought. He snorted and finished the apple before throwing the core into a random trashcan in that particular alley.
"At this rate, I'll visit every alley in the city before I make any headway." he muttered to himself. He was so annoyed with having to stop every ten minutes. "The Shinsengumi has grown a lot in the last few years." he said to himself as he walked out of the alley. He began concentrating on future plans, not noticing the sky blue uniforms until it was too late.
"Well if it isn't little Ibuki-kun!" a voice cut him from his thoughts and he looked up and snarled. No way in hell... It was Souji. He investigated the group in front of him. Most of them were in the same uniforms with the exception of a girl dressed in boy's clothing. His eyes narrowed at Souji.
"Tch. What do you want?" he asked. Souji had an amused glint in his eyes.
"Oh didn't you hear? The patrol groups of Shinsengumi were told you'd been sighted in the area so we could capture you. Trust me, Hijikata-san has A LOT to talk to you about and he's actually considering not killing you." Souji said with a smirk. "You can come peacefully or we can go the hard way. Your choice." Souji told him, putting his hand on the hilt of his sword. Ryunosuke glared at him.
"I would say I doubt you would start a fight in public but then again, you're Souji. Starting a commotion is your thing." Ryunosuke told him as he drew his sword.
"How funny! You really think you can take all of us?" Souji said as the rest of the Shinsengumi group drew their swords.
"Tch. Dirty Souji. Just dirty." he told him as he sheathed his sword. "I'll surrender...for now. But I swear, if you-" Ryunosuke began but Souji didn't listen to any of it. He simply tackled Ryunosuke to the ground and pinned his arms behind him with his foot. Ryunosuke knew he would easily be able to get out of Souji's grip but he didn't fight. He knew Souji and he knew that Souji would just say that he resisted.
"Giving up so easily, Ibuki-kun?" Souji asked from behind him. Ryunosuke just sighed and put his chin to the ground.
"I said I surrender and I meant it. Quit making a scene." Ryunosuke told him as Souji hauled him off the ground.
"Okita-san? Is that really necessary?" the girl asked. Ryunosuke sighed as Souji had two of the Shinsengumi members hold each of his arms and force him to walk after Souji and the girl.
"Chizuru, I thought I told you! He's dangerous!" Souji told 'Chizuru' and Ryunsuke sighed.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't give personal information about me to someone who doesn't even know me." Ryunosuke told Souji who turned around with an evil smirk. He walked over to Ibuki and pat him on the head.
"Once a dog, always a dog. You may be dangerous but in the end, it doesn't matter. You're still small and the bigger dogs will still chew you up and spit you out." Souji said with a smile on his face that made Ryunosuke want to spit at him.
They continued walking until they got to the Shinsengumi HQ. Ryunosuke immediately took in all of the familiar scenery of the wide open mansions that held the Shinsengumi, slowly becoming more and more anxious. He almost felt his original survival instincts coming back but he suppressed them as they approached where Hijikata was most likely staying.
"Hijikata-san! Look who we found wandering around and not paying attention to his surroundings as usual!" Souji shouted before sliding open the door to the room. Hijikata was sitting at his desk writing when he turned around and looked rather surprised at Ryunosuke's appearance. "I see you took Serizawa's words to heart. You look well. You two, let him go." Hijikata told the Shinsengumi members holding Ryunosuke and he was let go. Ibuki adjusted his clothes and stood straight before nodding to Hijikata and relaxing his posture with a hand on his hip.
"Was there something you needed me for? Execution? Life of servitute? Gonna turn me into one of those monsters? Tell me, I'm curious as to what to expect in the future." Ryunosuke asked and Hijikata raised an eyebrow.
"Still got that tongue after all these years. Though, you sound more mature. Have you learned a lot in the past few years? Perhaps respect?" Hijikata asked. Ryunosuke smirked.
"And since when were you soft and since when did you care? If I remember correctly, you were among the people that I deemed as 'Don't get near them, they'll just yell at you for being an idiot.'" Ryunosuke said, thinking his attitude would tick the man off like it used to.
"Well Ibuki, first off, I should probably still be on that list. Second, I was thinking about giving you a choice in the matter but I'm beginning to regret even thinking about it. Third, as long as you're in my presence, I would prefer that you quit being a smartass and just listen for once. Now, do you want to hear the deal or not?" Hijikata asked. Ryunosuke sighed and nodded.
"Sure, what do you have in mind?" He knew this wouldn't be good but he was willing to hear it if he got a choice.
"Good. Here's my proposition to you. You can either stay with us and fight for the Shinsengumi as a member and maybe help a little with some experiments and side jobs or you can be executed without the option of Harakiri. Your choice." Hijikata told Ryunosuke, watching as a look of shock came over Ryunosuke's face before being replaced with deep concentration.
Whatever concentration there was on his face quickly turned into a smile.
...
Author's Note: I just came up with like, fifty different ideas for this. The plot bunnies are taking over! I hope you like them. I got so excited that I tipped my rice bowl and got it all over the table along with some sweet and sour sauce but I cleaned it up with a smile on my face. Yup, I've got some interesting ideas that I should probably stop talking about. Thanks for reading! Sorry if this chapter was either too predictable or too anticlimactic. I just really needed him in the Shinsengumi so the plot could move on to more important things. X)
