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 1

-1st Person POV- Ibuki Ryunosuke-

It's been a few years give or take since I was thrown in the river by the Shinsengumi bastards. The last time you saw me, I cut my hair. Unfortunately, it ended up growing back a little bit so now I have to keep it in a messy bun since my hair is too thick to keep neat. I've changed my clothing as to not remember my days with the Shinsengumi but it's still the same style with the exception of the colors.

A maroon-like color and a faded dark pink are my colors now considering no one else uses them. Well, after I got out of that river, I was found by an old man, Tano-san, who made yumi, a special type of bow that is actually very easy to use if you're careful. He taught me how to use it and an old style of kendo while I was recovering and after awhile, I apparently became one of the best archers considering there are so few and hardly anyone can master the yumi as easily as I did.

Not to mention he deemed me on Master Level with Old Style Kendo which no one uses anymore since they thought it required evolution and now it has various styles branched from it. Or so that old man said...he was kind of like a grandfather to me after awhile. Nice man. He had to have been nice if the only thing he made me do in order to stay with him was serve him like I used to serve Serizawa with shoulder rubs and sake since that was all I was good at.

He didn't hit me though so I was fine with it. Anyway, I'm in Edo for Tae Kwon Do training and then I'm going back to Kyoto since I heard there's a giant commotion there and the Shinsengumi are right in the middle of it. I'm planning on going there and helping but I'm certainly not joining them. I'll be out of their sight so they won't notice that I'm alive. I still don't know if they'd kill me or not.

But right now, I'm not willing to find out. I have to keep training. My sensei, Kaito-san, has been telling me my posture is too stiff but no matter how relaxed I am, he tells me the same thing over and over agian. He's even proven it. He beat me to the ground and told me that I would have been able to block his attacks had I been more fluid with my movements. But I still can't relax!

"Here, let's try something else. I've already had you stretch, meditate, and I even beat you in a fight just to see if you'll loosen up and none of that's working. I...think you are having problems relaxing due to natural reflex. Something's bothering you. Is it okay if I ask a personal question?" Kaito asked me this and I sighed.

"Sure. Have at it." I told him as I sat down on the training mat.

"Were you beaten as a child or at any recent point in time? You flinch more often than you should, although it seems controlled somewhat. It's almost like you know you're flinching and you're trying to break yourself of it." Kaito said. I laughed slightly. He was so laid back. He was raised on the streets of Edo so it was only natural. He eventually got off the streets and learned Tae Kwon Do from the best of the best before deciding to teach martial arts. And now he still speaks about serious matters with a very laid back tone.

"Um well. I was recently in debt for someone and he wasn't exactly the nicest man and hit me rather often while I was paying off his debt. All he required was that I serve him until he found me of no further use." I told him, scratching the back of my head and laughing nervously. I didn't talk about Serizawa often since it brought up bad memories but I've been slowly getting over it.

"What possible debt would make you actually agree to serve someone who hit you until they tell you that you can leave?! He could have very well kept you until you died!" Kaito told me, sounding shocked, and I sighed before staring at my upturned palms.

"Well, the debt wasn't too bad since I owed him my life." I told Kaito with a small but sad smile.

"Ah. That must be the reason. Well, I'm going to have to ask you to go have a proper talk with him or the people who were there. I need you to learn to calm down. You're too jumpy. Everything I've tried hasn't worked so the only thing I think will work now is to get a proper resolve with the person who caused you so much pain. I understand that this is sort of an overkill but it's also a last resort for a reason." Kaito told me and I shook my head.

"I can't. He's no longer living. His allies, my only friends, overthrew him while I was still in his service and I ran when they came after me for seeing things I shouldn't. I'm sure that I could beat them with how strong I am now but I just can't face them knowing they'd intended to kill me those years ago." I told Kaito. I was now clenching my fists and trying to keep from tearing up. I'd abandoned my friends that day and then they were forced to hunt me down. No, I couldn't face them if I wanted to.

"You're going to have to if you want to get over this. As it is, you'll become a better fighter if you can start relaxing. You're far too tense. That's okay for both shooting with the yumi and wielding the sword since you relax at the appropriate intervals but in martial arts, you have to be completely relaxed for long periods of time and then tense at a moment's notice. You're too tense for that. You will have to either talk to them or quit martial arts. I can't teach you if you're so tense." Kaito said as he shook his head. I stared at him for a few seconds before comprehending his words.

"No. I can't. I guess I'll just have to give up Tae Kwon Do. I can stick to Old Style Kendo and my yumi." I told him, slightly irritated that he'd even suggested that I do that. I got up and bowed to him. "We'll meet again someday. But for now, I must go to Kyoto. I may not meet them but I'll certainly help them. After all, this is the Shinsengumi we're talking about." I told him and smirked when he gaped. He'd had no idea that I'd been a part of THE Shinsengumi or that they'd tried to hunt me down.

I walked out the door, leaving my shocked sensei to stare after me. I had a long walk ahead of me. I went to one of the abandoned apartment places and slid the third door back. This was where I lived. I grabbed my messenger bag and hat along with my sword, yumi and a quiver full of arrows before taking my bag and stuffing another set of the clothes I was wearing into it along with whatever food I had. It wouldn't be enough for the trip but I could use the money I've earned over the years to buy more along the way. I put on my hat and strapped on my sword before walking out and closing the door behind me.

I was going to willingly walk back into hell.

...

Author's Note: So I rewatched the last episode of Hakuouki Reimeiroku and thought, 'You know what, I won't stand for this! I NEED to know what happened to Ibuki after that.' I watched Hakuouki and saw NOTHING on Ibuki and threw a fit so I decided to write about it and still keep the fanfiction part in. I just HAVE to mess up the plot of Hakuouki somehow! So anyways, you'll see what I did later on in the story. Please review! I want to hear what you think! I have up to chapter 10 written right now so if you review, I'll speed up the updates. Until then, it'll probably be either a weekly or monthly occurance. Thanks for reading! I know this chapter sucks but I promise it gets better!