#ibachi

Hair shimmers like opal, slick and plastered to each muscle of her back as she moves on him.

The demon inside is a smug bastard.

It’s shameful to have her this way, wrapped around him, bouncing up and down with her little gasps. And yet—

Her moan vibrates off the wall when a nail nicks the delicate skin of her throat, she squeezes blindingly hard around his cock when that devils hand snakes around, grips her horn, wrenches her back so he can feast.

But it’s a human touch that makes her fall apart.

Still, he couldn’t forget the anger that blossomed within him when Kaien’s father had raised a hand against her. All for simply speaking out against the future marriage. Even now, Iba felt pissed off, but there was little that he could do about it.

Instead, he chose to focus on the one thing that he was capable of doing for her. The single request that she had given to him before they’d parted ways.

“Iba?”

Blinking, he glanced over at the entrance to the dojo, a familiar dark-haired figure standing there with a raised eyebrow. “Ah, Toshi! It’s good to see you.”

“Mm. You’re back sooner than I would’ve expected. Is everything okay?” Hijikata asked, placing a hand on the young teen’s shoulder.

“Well…” Iba’s smile faltered as he glanced away, the guilt and anger rising up again in his chest the more he thought about it. “Not precisely.”

“Did something happen to Kai?”

“Not yet. Not exactly…”

Hijikata’s eyebrows furrowed together. “Would you like to talk about it over some tea?”

“Not right now. Thank you for the offer.” Iba bowed before looking around the dojo. “I’m actually here on a request from Kaien. Did Harada-san ever come back?”

“Ah.” Rubbing his face, Hijikata’s expression softened. “Yes, he’s back… He’s upset, so if he yells at you, try not to take it to heart. He’s mostly upset with himself. For not being here for Kai when she was having to leave…”

“Don’t worry, Toshi.” Iba patted the older man’s arm. “He’s not the only one…”

After all, I’m the one who had the most power to be able to keep Kaien safe. I’m the one who made a promise to her that I’d help keep her from being married off. And I failed… If I can’t even keep a promise to a friend, then I’m never going to be worthy of marrying Chizuru...

“I’ll go find Harada-san,” he said, waving a hand back at Hijikata and making his way through the dojo until he could find Kaien’s room. “Now let’s see…” He tapped his knuckles against the flooring around the room until he managed to find a spot where the wood was loose enough to lift up. Beneath the board was the journal he was looking for, just as Kaien had said.

Tucking the journal into his yukata, Iba left the room. His feet carried him around the grounds, following the sounds of someone training rigorously. Standing a few paces back against the wall, he watched as the redhead repeatedly swung and stabbed the practice spear into a set of training dummies. Far more aggressively than Iba had ever seen him.

Toshi wasn’t exaggerating… But I know I’d feel the same way if I were in his place.

Iba cleared his throat, causing the elder teen to stop and turn towards him. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything, Harada-san.”

Grabbing a towel, Harada wiped the sweat from his face and neck, propping the staff against one of the dummies before plopping down on the ground near Iba. “No. Not interrupting. I was just…” He waved his hand before sighing, scrunching his nose up. “Frustrated. If I had known that Kai was going to end up leaving...” Amber eyes stared up at the young teen. “I wouldn’t have expected you to be back so soon.”

“You’re not the first person to say that,” Iba stated, a hint of amusement in his voice before frowning. “I’m actually here because Kaien asked me to speak with you. Apparently there was some kind of misunderstanding between the two of you, and she was worried about you.”

“A misunderstanding…” Harada repeated slowly, letting the words sink in.

“Mm. It was something about you being in love with her, but you thinking that she’s in love with Heisuke.”

“I do love her. I know she said something about thinking that I had started hating her, but that’s never been further from the truth. If that’s what she was worried about--”

“No, no. That’s not it at all.” He chuckled, sitting down on the ground next to the spearman. “It’s the Heisuke part. She’s never been in love with him. She never had a chance to tell you that though.”

Harada blinked at him. “Oh.” Biting his lip, he rested his forearms against his knees, his fists clenching and unclenching. “The two of them had gotten so close so quickly that I’d thought…”

“Would you like to know my thoughts about the matter, Harada-san?” Iba asked gently, resting a hand on the other’s shoulder. He waited until the other silently nodded before continuing. “I think Kaien was just happy to be able to have a friend that wouldn’t judge her or pity her--”

“But I didn’t--”

“--or feel guilty about not being able to protect her. Someone that she could feel normal around. Someone that also didn’t treat her like a helpless girl.” Iba paused for a moment, tilting his head in thought. “Did Heisuke ever even know that Kaien is a girl? Because if Kaien was simply only ever Kai around him, then I think that makes it pretty clear that they were just friends.”

After a moment, Harada let out a soft curse. “Now that you mention it, I don’t think he ever did… He might be the only one that doesn’t know. Though I think Shinpachi even forgot that she’s a girl at times too…” There was a pause. “If I had only noticed and hadn’t jumped to conclusions about how she felt... I feel like I ruined my chances with her…”

Letting out a huff, Iba shook his head, even though he could understand where Harada was coming from. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. If you had, then I wouldn’t be here right now.” Reaching into his yukata, he pulled out Kaien’s journal. “She sent me back here for me to find this journal that she had hidden in her room. She wanted you to have it, and said that there’s a note for you on the last page,” he said as Harada gently took the leatherbound papers in his hands, flipping through the pages.

“It’s...mostly about me…” Harada mumbled, his fingers skimming across the papers reverently, drinking in the gentle swoops and arches of the calligraphy that inked the pages. It wasn’t until he reached the last page that he inhaled sharply, eyes widening in surprise. “She…”

Harada stood up so fast that Iba almost fell over beside him, having to hurry to catch up to the redhead as he was quickly walking away.

“What’s wrong? What did it say?” he asked, concern suddenly filling his chest. At least...until Iba saw the happiness that was across the other’s face.

“That she wished she had a chance to say it in person, but that she loves me and...she asked me to marry her.”

“And...what are you trying to do right now? If you’re thinking of heading to their family’s estate and asking her father for her hand in marriage, it’s not going to work. I already tried.”

Those words seemed to freeze Harada in his place. “You tried to marry her?”

Wetting his lips, Iba continued, hoping to prevent any type of misunderstanding. Again. “My father and I tried to arrange a fake engagement so that Kaien would be able to continue training and for her to be able to still be around everyone. But her father already had a suitor picked out. They’ve likely already left the estate by now to head to his family’s home. The wedding itself wouldn’t be for several years though.” Iba hesitantly reached out and placed a hand on Harada’s arm, knowing the amount of pain he was likely going through. After all, Iba felt his own guilt for being unable to fulfill the promise that he had made to Kaien when they’d first met.

“So what exactly am I supposed to do then? Just sit around and let the girl I love get married off to some stranger?” the redhead bit out, punching the wall beside them, a growl in his throat.

“No. You trust Kaien. And you wait for her. She’s not just going to lay down and give up. She’s going to fight for what she wants, and I know that...somehow...someday...she’ll find her way back to you…”

“But what if something happens to her...and she doesn’t?”

Amber eyes met green, and for the first time, Iba saw the amount of world-shattering grief that filled the man in front of him. He was at a loss for what to say. After all, how could he even relate to having the love of his life being ripped away from him without being able to do anything about it?

My favourite characters, from a strictly “who is attractive to me” and “which ships strike a chord with me” pov, are Saito, then Harada / Hijikata / Yamazaki (order not clear), then Souma (I’m still thinking about where Souma fits into this).  I find these characters soothing to my jangled hyper-awareness, and I perceive them as a good fit for Chizuru as I perceive Chizuru.  Whether or not that means I’m looking for “boring” is a matter of perspective – but I understand the question!

I’m capable of significant objectivity, but I don’t believe an unbiased ranking is possible for anyone.  Personal attraction or dislike, romantic or otherwise, will always influence your decisions, and we’re all attracted to different things (some more common than others).  So I’m going to rank my favourite ships, and say why, and hope that everyone will take it all with a grain of salt. This is about my perceptions, and doesn’t invalidate anyone else’s.

SaiChi:  My OTP (in the literal sense of the expression).  Saito is calmly protective of Chizuru from the beginning.  He would have killed her under orders, but I’m strongly of the opinion that he didn’t expect Hijikata to give that order.  Saito generally seems to disapprove of making Chizuru any more uncomfortable, embarrassed, or frightened than she already is.  He also tends to treat her as a person, not as “a girl” or “an annoyance”.  He answers her questions, and doesn’t mock or undermine her efforts, although he is blunt when she makes mistakes.  Saito’s direct intervention with Sannan (about Chizuru not being a burden) is one of my favourite scenes. Saito may be reserved to the point of being cold (debatable, especially in KW), but his actions are almost uniformly kind, right from the start.  

There are indications of him caring about Chizuru’s well-being from very early on.  The scenes where he drinks Chizuru’s blood are the only ones in Hakuouki that are both sexy and rather cuddly (and frankly, this says a lot about how he feels).  He also fusses less over the whole thing, despite being apologetic, which I think Chizuru would prefer.

Saito and Chizuru actually talk more than it might seem (especially given that Saito doesn’t talk much in general), and Saito seriously considers and values Chizuru’s input.  I love that EB brought in some of my all-time favourite scenes from Stories of the Shinsengumi. I don’t care if it’s a rather shy, awkward relationship at times, it’s the ultimate slow-burn fic of Hakuouki, for me.

… Okay, better stop before I write (more of) an essay on this topic.  Or a 90-chapter story.

HaraChi / HijiChi / YamaChi / SouChi – Ships I ship

HaraChi:  His very earliest treatment of Chizuru is oddly uneven (a little less so in KW), but my headcanon is that he knows he’s prone to caring too much, and is trying too hard to guard against it.  His route always felt realistic to me, given the time period and Chizuru’s background.  Sano is flawed, but I find him very human, and I think Chizuru finds him both kind and comforting.  Plus, somebody needed to say this:

I’m immensely grateful that EB significantly changed the first part of the HaraChi interactions in Edo. It works SO much better now.  Sano’s a sweetheart, and he makes Chizuru his priority more than most of the others.  This is the route and character that I never expected to love as much as I did (originally); now I love it more. (And he has such awesome banter with Shiranui, and snark for Kazama. ♥)

HijiChi:  Hijikata should never have left Chizuru behind when he went to Ezo. Now that that’s off my chest… I like the ship because it feels realistic given Chizuru’s overall personality. Chizuru’s crush on Hijikata (from the beginning) makes sense to me, and I can see how his charisma, devotion to the Shinsengumi, and obvious disregard for his own needs eventually converts a crush into love.  He’s a difficult man not to admire, if you value the fiercely responsible type (which I do).  I don’t know if EB added as much to this route as to some others, but I definitely enjoyed seeing Hijikata with Souma and Nomura, and I liked the extra historical details.  The main flaw to this ship is Hijikata’s refusal to concede the validity of Chizuru’s feelings and wishes until he is driven to it.  I do appreciate the fact that he didn’t “fall for” Chizuru right away (there’s a big difference between 16 and 28!); on the other hand, he clearly came to care about her from early on.

YamaChi:  I think I enjoyed the KW portion of this story better than the EB portion; something about Yamazaki’s EB route was not quite as satisfying for me – but I’ll be playing the route again for a second impression.  I like the fact that EB established Yamazaki as a superb warrior as well as a caring medic.  The affection in this ship was endearing, and they seemed like a natural fit.  I thought the ending was solid, and the whole demonstrated a deep, ongoing commitment to each other.  It doesn’t hurt that Yamazaki is one of my favourite Hakuouki characters.

SouChi:  Chizuru getting to be a senpai was great.  If you want the wildest roller-coaster of feels and angst from start to finish, this is the route. I think I like this ship because of the honest respect for Chizuru and what she does, and Souma’s commitment to the Shinsengumi.  I’ll save my comments about the route itself for another time (there were aspects of the EB route that I was so-so on).  SouChi, like YamaChi feels like a solid, believable relationship with clear affection and respect on both sides, and the attraction resonates for me.  Also, I adore the Souma / Nomura friendship.  KW & EB did a terrific job with Nomura as a character. [And I can’t get over the way they brought so many of the others into this route – aaaaahhhhhh!!!! so cool!]

Random screencap of some cuties.  (Yes, okay, I put Saito in there – he did give Souma excellent advice, however.  Also, as stern as he was, he took the guys seriously, unlike pretty much everyone else they ran into.)

ShinChi / HeiChi / OkiChi / IbaChi Good points, but I don’t really ship them

ShinChi:  I liked the route concept for EB – Shinpachi having to deal with having been made into a fury, but not wanting to make Chizuru feel awful either.  I felt like poor Shin could have used a friend like Sano around even just to yell at, or drink with, or something. I really liked the idea of trying to fight his final battles without resorting to fury form, and I liked the watchful presence of the Oni.  And Shin finally got properly recognized for being a top-notch swordsman!  Problem is, I’m kind of neutral on the ship.  I never quite got past the brother/sister feel to it.  On the other hand, the epilogue was sweet and I’m glad they got there, so a replay is definitely in order (on Steam, since I’ve played it on my Vita).  I might change my mind on this one.

HeiChi:  I’m “positive-neutral” on HeiChi and always have been.  I don’t find the ship compelling, despite the reasonable argument that it can be seen as healthy and more “equal”. To be honest, I got a strong sense from the beginning of Hakuouki that Chizuru liked Heisuke, and appreciated his cheerfulness, but was *attracted* to Hijikata and the others.  The ship’s probably fine, objectively, although Heisuke does leave Chizuru behind to follow his aspirations with Itou, which always troubled me.  Heisuke’s a sweetie, but I don’t “feel” the romantic ship.  I sympathize with Heisuke, always trying and trying to come into his own, and make the decisions that are right for him, but there’s a sense of immaturity-despite-best-efforts that doesn’t work for me.  I leave HeiChi in the competent hands of those who love it! (And hope that my HeiChi stories make up a little bit for my personal ambivalence.)

OkiChi:  … I’ve said enough about OkiChi.  I leave it to those who love it best and write really cool fanfiction about it.  It’s a big change for me to move OkiChi up this far on my list (partly Shinkai, partly having friends who’ve been working on me with OkiChi!).

IbaChi:  Not a bad ship, or route, but left me neutral.  Having gone down the path with the Demon Arm, and the way it and Iba and then Chizuru were intertwined, I felt like there could have been a bit more to it.  I would have preferred Takeda to be a more well-rounded villain.  I didn’t feel a strong Iba-Chizuru connection in KW; I felt like Iba was pushing Chizuru to feel and remember things.  I kept wanting Iba to be a little more honest and a lot more direct.  There were upsides and downsides to both this ship and this route, and I’m in the middle.  The ending was good, and I liked that final CG (Iba looked really good).  This is another ship I’m going to leave to those who really love Iba as a character – I know you’ll do great with it! :)

KazaChi / SanChi /SakaChi*I don’t ship them, but I can see the possibilities, to a point* except SakaChi which I just don’t ship

KazaChi:  Maybe.  I still can’t wrap my head around the arrogance.  Smug doesn’t work for me, especially when it’s all one-way – it’s part of why I still struggle with OkiChi.  I’ve come to the conclusion that I do better with modern AUs for both OkiChi and KazaChi.  KW and EB provided some good KazaChi moments, and I really, truly feel for Kazama toward the end of EB (which is much more like Movie 2 than the original game or the anime).  @hidetheremote et al, this one’s yours, and I will continue to do my best to contribute from time to time!  I actually do have a soft spot for KazaChi in its end-state – Kazama does start to respect and care about Chizuru for herself, eventually (when is a matter of opinion).  I don’t think loving another person will ever come easy for him, but I have the feeling he’ll try, and he’s a very competent man (Oni).

SanChi:  This is another one where I think I preferred KW to EB, but it requires another play-through.  The route itself was rather fascinating, although I think it over-complicated itself toward the end.  Sannan and Kaoru (and Kodo) in a dismal castle full of furies – this is some serious Gothick.  The atmosphere was very well done.  Sannan as a ship with Chizuru – hard to get my head around.  And yet.  I couldn’t help but feel that tug on my heartstrings that said “Sannan is truly a tragic figure and deserves some happiness.”  Plus, he’s a damn good tactician and devoted to his cause.  Don’t ship SanChi, but still want Sannan to be loved and appreciated.  Hmmm.

SakaChi:  I can’t bring myself to like this ship or find it believable (though definitely more so in EB than in KW).  Everyone has their types, and Sakamoto is the exact opposite of mine.  He set my teeth on edge from (literally) the first time I saw him on-screen.  I know my opinion of this ship is biased, but there are just so many reasons I don’t ship SakaChi.  If you love Sakamoto / SakaChi, then I’m kind of glad, because I like every character to have their fans.  However, there’s probably no point reading my comments below unless you’re honestly curious about my perspective. I’m trying to outline my issues with the ship, not convince others that they’re wrong.  (I mean this – don’t let me upset you.  If you like something, despite seeing some of the flaws, and you respect other people’s preferences without hate, then stick with what you like!)

CG:  one of the scenes that I did like a lot

First, I found the entire development of SakaChi in KW totally unbelievable, and Sakamoto was disrespectful of Chizuru’s personal space to an extent that I’d call harassment.  He made Harada look tame, as far as flirting goes, and I’m firmly of the belief that Harada treated her personal preferences with more respect.  As a specific example (albeit from EB), Sakamoto asked to “borrow” Chizuru’s lap.  When she was taken aback, he settled in anyway, then said “oh come on, it’s not like I’m violating you.”  Just… no.  This excuse is used way too much in the real world for me not to flinch here.  I’ve seen too many women have to deal with this, and I don’t like it.

Second, Chizuru’s loyalty to the Shinsengumi is part of what makes up her character, for me.  So I struggled to understand why she got so involved with Sakamoto in the first place, given his total and complete disdain for the Shinsengumi (not unjustified disdain, but not likely to appeal to Chizuru coming from a guy who’s pretty much a stranger).  Chizuru also seemed too quick to let go of the fact that Sakamoto was a gun smuggler and general arms’ dealer whose weapons killed an awful lot of her friends (although at least she wasn’t altogether happy about it).  

** Must admit that I did better with Sakamoto as a character / person once I went and learned a lot more about him and the situation in Tosa.  I already had some background knowledge, but I definitely improved on it.  Sakamoto’s balancing act between powerful Satsuma and powerful Choshu, while working around Tosa’s locally powerful / abusive daimyo, was fascinating.

Third, although I found Sakamoto much improved in EB, lines like this were a complete “ugh” for me:

Look, buddy, she just told you that she wasn’t ready to sleep with you.  Complaining to her that it would suck if she made you wait until the wedding is not my idea of a good relationship.

What did Sakamoto / Sakamoto’s route do well?  The route presented a good story, told from the opposite side, that didn’t just repeat the basics of the rest of the routes.  Sakamoto is an interesting guy.  If you’re into the brash, self-confident, pirate types (Han Solo comes to mind, although I preferred Han), then Sakamoto’s a good fit for you. Sakamoto does, without question, rock the western look.  Despite my belief in the importance of Chizuru having some agency and self-determination, I think Sakamoto’s absolute refusal to let her go rescue Kondo was both right and appropriate (that’s the CG I picked, above).  To be honest, stern Sakamoto appeals to me far, far more than smarmy smiley Sakamoto, (another clear result of my personal preferences).  The scene out by the dock was good, and I had to appreciate Sakamoto’s directness, in that instance.

Okay, so despite my best efforts, I ended up putting a lot of my route review thoughts into my personal ship ranking list.  AND it’s all way too long again.

I hope that there’s something here of interest.  And – one more time – ship what works for you.  Canon (game-based) ships, “non-canon” ships, semi-canon ships, m/f, f/f, m/m, whatever.  We don’t have to agree for me to respect your preferences.  Otome games are all about so-called “problematic” ships; my preferences tend to be on the “serious and thoughtful”, or at least “responsible and honest”, side (or “boring” depending on perspective!).