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.

Chapter 12

The rest of the day was pretty much just going to dinner and going to sleep. Ryunosuke was out like a light due to the day's stressing events so the next day, when Chizuru realized he wasn't already up, she went to wake him up and couldn't help but let out a giggle. He'd managed to kick the blanket halfway off of his body and knocked the pillow across the room at some point. He was snoring lightly, ignoring the light coming in through the window and his hair had somehow gotten out of his usual bun and was everywhere. Chizuru knew he'd probably want to help with that day's chores so she walked over to his head and poked his cheek. All he did was roll over.

"Ibuki-kun...I'm going to make breakfast without you." she muttered in his ear and he was suddenly wide awake and frantically looking around the room for the voice. Chizuru giggled again, getting him to turn around and pout.

"You could have just kicked me or something." he grumbled as he straightened out his bed.

"How did this get over here?" he wondered out loud as he grabbed his pillow which had ended up past his feet and against the far wall. He set it down and made the bed as he talked to Chizuru. "You aren't going to make breakfast without me are you? Geez! How late did I sleep in?!" Ryunosuke asked as he looked himself over. "And I fell asleep with my clothes on!" he groaned, making Chizuru giggle again.

"It's okay Ibuki-kun. I was just about to start breakfast. I noticed you weren't up yet and came to wake you up." Chizuru said and Ryunosuke smiled.

"Thanks Chizuru-chan. Let's go." Ryunosuke said as he tied his hair back up, slid his sword into his belt, and straightened his clothes. He followed Chizuru to the kitchen where they made fried rice for breakfast since they were already late and needed to make something easy.

Ryunosuke gave everyone their portions before sitting down and eating his own in an almost rushed pace. He almost wished that they had made more. For some reason, he was extremely hungry. He waited until everyone had eaten and gone about to do their daily jobs before taking the dishes to the kitchen. When he got to the kitchen, he made himself a few rice balls to satisfy his hunger before picking up the bucket full of dirty dishes and carrying it in the direction of the well. He was about to round the corner when he heard voices and stopped.

"-didn't take that seriously just now, did you? Please don't tell anyone else about this lame joke, okay? I might have to kill you if you tell someone." a familiar voice rang out. Ibuki's eyes narrowed.

"Okita-san, you always act like that." Chizuru's voice sounded sad, like she'd witnessed a death of a family member.

"I suppose." Souji muttered as he got up.

"Okita-san. I'll keep your condition a secret. I promise you that I will not tell a soul." Chizuru told Souji, peaking Ryunosuke's interest.

"Thank you. Although, I don't know if Ibuki-kun will say the same. Get out here, dog." Souji said in that teasing tone he always used around Ryunosuke. Ryunosuke scowled at being found out along with the stupid nickname Souji liked to call him and walked around the corner.

"You could have picked a more descreet place to talk and then some of us wouldn't be tempted to listen." Ryunosuke growled out irritably. Souji just smirked.

"Well then I guess you heard that I have tuberculosis then?" Souji said slyly, knowing Ryunosuke hadn't heard that part.

"No, I didn't. But I'm guessing Chizuru-chan did." Ryunosuke muttered, not looking Souji in the eye. Souji had been a horrible person to Ryunosuke lately but he would never wish this kind of death upon him.

"Tch. Well the same thing goes for you, Ibuki-kun. Don't tell anyone or I'll have to kill you. Except with you, I'm serious." Souji said, his expression darkening dangerously. Ryunosuke sighed.

"Fine. I won't tell. Geez. I'll leave that for you to deal with." Ryunosuke told Souji before trying to walk past him with the bucket of dishes only to find a sword pressed against his throat.

"I'll be serious with you Ibuki-kun. If you tell someone, I WILL kill you and I'll think of it as a long overdue payment for not running you through with a sword the day I threw you off that bridge." Souji said with that same sadistic smile as he sheathed his sword.

"I won't tell a soul. Besides, I couldn't care less about this 'condition.' You're still the bastard that tried to kill me. It doesn't matter to me." Ryunosuke told him, making Chizuru just stand there and look between the two samurai.

"Tch. Typical Ibuki-kun. Only caring about himself and-" Souji began when Chizuru clenched her fists and interupted.

"Will you two stop?! I can't stand it! You two never get along and even now, you can't stop arguing!" Chizuru said frantically and Ryunosuke chuckled.

"Okay Chizuru-chan. Just tell Okita-kun to let me go and I'll leave. I have nothing more to say to him anyway." Ryunosuke told her and Souji sighed.

"You can go Ibuki-kun. Although I expect to see you sitting by my death bed when the time comes so we can have a talk without wanting to kill each other." Souji told him in a serious but tired sounding tone. 'How did he know that I still cared for him like a friend? Can he read minds or something?' Ryunosuke wondered before nodding and leaving to go wash the dishes, barely noticing that Chizuru had followed him and was now helping him. They finished and put all of the dishes back in the kitchen before heading to the pond that sat in the back of the mansion so they could clean up the area.

"Is what you said true?" she asked quietly as she swept the area.

"What part?" Ryunosuke asked.

"About not caring about his condition. Was it true?" she asked again and Ryunosuke sighed.

"No. Of course I care. I don't want to see someone who I used to consider one of my allies die in such a horrible way. Not even Souji deserves it." Ryunosuke told her as he used his broom sweep away some leaves that had fallen from the tree that hung above his head. They fell into a heavy silence before someone broke it.

"You're doing odd jobs for them? I didn't expect one with demon blood in her veins to do errands for humans." Ryunosuke immediately whipped around to look at the person standing on the rock in the middle of the pond. He pulled out his sword and stood in front of Chizuru, hoping to protect her.

"Who are you and why are you here?" he demanded.

"This is beyond ridiculous. I even find it sad. Don't get so worked up. I'm not here to fight today. But I wanted to know, are you related to Koudou?" the man asked Chizuru and Ryunosuke growled. Who the hell was this guy?! He'd completely ignored his question!

"Yukimura Koudou is my father." Chizuru told the man who slowly let a small smirk cross his lips.

"So that's it." the man muttered.

"What do you people want with father?" Chizuru asked.

"Chizuru, Koudou stands with us, do you understand? In other words, your father has turned his back on the Shogunate." the man told Chizuru, making her freeze.

"Hey! I asked you a question! Who are you?!" Ryunosuke demanded, shifting into his Rasetsu form, making the man look at him with wide eyes.

"I wish the humans would stop turning other humans into fake copies of demons especially considering they already have two Oni in their captivity. What is your name? I don't believe we've met." the man asked and Ryunosuke narrowed his eyes.

"Ryunosuke Ibuki. Now answer my question!" Ryunosuke demanded, getting more and more angry. The man chuckled then outright laughed for a minute.

"An Ibuki?! You've got to be kidding. You're among the weakest Oni clan known to all demonkind and you think you have the right to challenge a Kazam, Chikage Kazama of all Oni, the strongest? Tch. I was worried over nothing. Although your sword does say you'd be worthy of killing. The leader of all Ibuki stands before me and probably doesn't even know his status. It's sad, pitiful really." 'Chikage' told Ryunosuke who grit his teeth. Was he really that weak compared to this guy? And what was this talk about being the leader?

"Fortunately for you, I have somewhere to be so I can't stay. Chizuru, you should seriously reconsider joining us since your father is on our side and an Oni rat is the strongest thing that can protect you. You won't last long among them." Kazama said before disappearing in thin air. That was when Hijikata, Heisuke, and Sano all ran into the yard to see Ryunosuke in Rasetsu form, clutching his sword so hard his knuckles were white as he glared daggers at where Kazama had been standing while holding back a snarl.

"What happened here?!" Hijikata demanded as he walked towards Chizuru, being careful not to startle the tense Rasetsu guarding her.

"Whoever that Kazama guy is, I'm going to rip him to shreds next time I see him unless he tells me what he meant." Ryunosuke growled as he stepped away from Chizuru and sheathed his sword, watching as everyone talked to her but didn't transform back to his human form.

"We heard the last part. Don't believe him Chizuru." Heisuke reassured the depressed girl.

"No one can be sure he was telling the truth." Sano added with a reassuring smile.

"We already have men out looking for Koudou-san. We should be getting reports soon." Hijikata joined in. Chizuru looked up from the ground and gave everyone a small smile.

"Yes. Okay." she muttered. Everyone turned to Ryunosuke who started invesitgating the hilt of his sword, not paying them any mind. He remembered the hell it was to look for it after he was thrown in the river despite the fact that it was actually so close to him. He was lucky it had been so close and didn't get stuck in the bottom of the river on the way down. It had been a family heirloom from his mother.

If what Kazama said was true, the sword must have been hundreds of years old and held in the hands of several demon leaders before him. If what Kazama said was true...If what Kazama said was true...was it? Could he trust that man who referred to Ryunosuke as an Oni? Ryunosuke scoffed. The weakest Oni clan, huh? He'd show that Kazama bastard. One day...

...

Author's Note: Sooooo what do you think? I added an extra twist as if there wasn't enough going on. Sorry, updates might be a little slow from here on since the holidays are going by. They should pick up around the end of February or beginning of March to about a bi-weekly basis. Thanks for reading! Please review and have a Happy Holidays! (For the ones that haven't already gone past.)

...

alohamiems- Thanks for reviewing! Yeah, we're kind of getting to the boring explanations so hang in there!

Kimagure Author- I'll find it eventually. But yeah, I'm a freshman. You're a sophmore then? That's cool!