Chapter-3

"*What do you mean?" Ida asked the Aizu Lord, looking to the floor and knowing better then to look him in the eye. She was supposed to be packing right now to return to England, most likely returning in a year or so to help more with military modernization than act as an escort.

"Sir Alcock thought it best to have you stay behind and I happen to agree."

"My Lord, I think that is Sir Alcock's greed speaking."

"Eh?" The sound had a mocking tone to it, like she wasn't supposed to be questioning anything right now. "I've seen how people in Kyoto are treating you, they are being surprisingly welcoming of you."

"Isn't it best to not push that further?"

"Silence! You will not be leaving, Ida. That is final."

Ida clenched her jaw and bowed, placing her hands on the ground and closing her eyes. "Yes, sir."

"You will be accompanying the others to Osaka for the wrestling match that they are attending before they set sail. I expect you to return with the guard they are provided."

"Yes, sir."

"You're dismissed." Ida made it obvious that she was irritated, making more of an effort to avoid looking at him again. She knew this wasn't entirely his fault but she couldn't help think he had originally suggested it. Ida walked to to her room, thinking she would find Ninja there, however she became worried when he wasn't. In a confused irritation, she walked around the compound trying to find her companion. She whistled and called his name but she couldn't find him. With one last whistle, she intently listened and heard a small bark. It sounded like it was in the distance and started running in the direction she thought it had come from. Ida found herself at the entrance of the compound, Ninja trying to pull away from the people dragging him towards the road.

"Hey!" She yelled to them, running up and Ninja looking like he was pleading for her help. "Let him go!" Ida didn't recognize them so she wondered if they were new to the Aizu domain. Suddenly a shouting match began because she didn't want to hurt anyone. As they continued to refuse to let go, she quickly started running out of options. I have no choice…"Ninja, Fass!" The second she said it the group let go as the felt the dogs weight start to shift but one didn't get away fast enough. Ninja latched onto the man's leg, pulling him to the ground as he screamed in agony. "Ninja, Aus!" The dog immediately let go and ran to his owner. "Ninja, good job buddy. Good boy." She hugged the dog, patted his head and rubbing his neck.

"What was that!?" A voice said from the road, causing Ida to look at the gate to see men in blue haori running into the compound and looked in confusion between the two sides. The man on the ground stating to yell at the group, saying Ida needed to be arrested and the dog killed for attacking him for no reason. Ida protectively stood in front of Ninja as she stood and was ready to harm anyone that came towards her. Then, thankfully, a red head and brunette she knew came into the situation.

"What's going on?" Harada's voice boomed in the space and curiously looked at the aftermath.

"The dog attacked him." One man said, standing in a protective way over the man that was on the ground. Harada and Shinpachi knew something was up, they had seen Ida's control over the dog before. It didn't attack without command.

"What happened? The whole story." Harada asked, the man immediately saying that he was minding his own business and the girl commanded the dog to attack him. It was short and missing details, Shinpachi didn't buy it either.

"That seems made up." The brunette said with certainty.

"Ida-chan?" Harada asked, glancing to her to see she was still in a protective stance in front of her companion. "Care to say what happened?"

"I returned to my room after having been called into a meeting. Ninja wasn't there, I had told him to stay there before I left, and so I started looking for him. Usually it only takes one or two calls if he's far off to come so I thought it was odd that he didn't come immediately. I tried calling him one last time and I could hear barking. I found him," she quickly glared to the man on the floor, "holding him in place. I gave him chances to let Ninja go and when he didn't I commanded Ninja to bite him."

"You admit you gave the command?" Shinpachi asked, worried that that may have worked against her.

"I am not going to lie to make myself seem innocent." Ida claimed, standing tall. "I did what I had to to protect him."

"That dog should be killed!" The man said, standing and showing that he was more than capable to stand without aid.

"You should be quiet, you're not innocent in this." Harada quickly said.

"What?!"

"He was holding onto your leg, no?"

"Yes."

"Then why do you have dog hair on your face?" Shinpachi asked, figuring out where Sano was going with this. The man's face angered, stuttering as he tried to come up with a defence. "You're the one at fault so don't try to push this on someone else."

"You're protecting a foreigner!?"

"One who is a guest of your Lord." Sanosuke pointed out, "You should watch what you try and do against her." The man could only angrily walk away, the Roshigumi sticking around as they watched the man walk away.

"You shouldn't have done that." Ida said, regret in her voice.

"Why not?" Harada asked, curious. Ida didn't think it needed to be said as she looked at the group, shaking her head.

"What's with the coats?" Ida asked, the light blue colour not a common one she had seen in Japanese clothing. Also, trying to get them off topic.

"Uniforms," Shinpachi said, smiling at the new attention he was getting. "So people know who we are."

"Are you going to be okay?" Harada quickly asked, returning them to the original reason they were all there.

"That's not for you to worry about." Ida urged Ninja to follow and left the Roshigumi at the gate, stuttering as they tried to call her back to talk it out. Ida rushed past people walking through the compound, eyes forward and not acknowledging anyone as she walked by. Barging into her room, she slammed the door and took in some breathes before she chucked a notebook in her pocket at a small shelf. The crash caused Ninja to come towards her carefully as she sat on the floor. "This is not going to go well Ninja."

A few days went by, Ida staying around the building her room was in as she waited for the day of the wrestling tournament. The boat ride was nothing spectacular, worrying that some of the newbies in the Aizu would try things with Ninja back at the compound but the Lieutenant and Hiroshi promised to take care of him. It gave her some comfort at the thought that Ninja was with someone she somewhat trusted. However, she was upset that she had to worry about men that couldn't hold their stomachs together.

Osaka was not as silent about the western presence as she would have hoped. Many men were confronting them as they made their way to the inn and Ida wasn't able to sleep the first night, thinking someone would try to sneak into one of their rooms. It reminded her of the first time she was truly in the war, not at the training camps. The explosions off in the distance, none of the new cadets could sleep through it. For the first week, they all kept each other company, speaking of home and playing cards in a small light. Then, slowly, one by one, the men started to fall asleep, having gotten used to the sound. Ida was the last one to find the comfort of sleep but it wasn't anything like the sleep she got at home. It was only a couple hours and the sleep she had was usually filled with nightmares. But, Ida preferred the nightmare filled sleep over none at all. It never got any better and even to this day she could never push down the nightmares. Sometimes she found the silent night more difficult to sleep in than rowdy evenings. Noisy nights told her where people were, she wasn't always guessing and thinking things through. So, wide awake, Ida quietly left their room to get some fresh air. She did this often, finding places in the early mornings or late nights to be alone, to breath in the air of a place not filled with smoke and blood. Walking out of the inn, she was surprised to see the people of Osaka already starting their day, setting up their stores and stalls to earn an honest pay.

"Ida?" She flinched as she turned around, seeing one of the artists she was escorting walking towards her.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

"I was awake anyway." He chuckled, walking up to her and looking out to the town. "It's amazing, isn't it?"

"Y-Yes, it makes you think if we are doing the right thing."

"What do you mean?"

"The modernization attempts." Ida pointed out, knowing that the artists also had a part in all of this. "Sure, some of their ways aren't perfect, but we aren't either. Just look at all the trouble we cause each other all the time."

Ida sighed as she looked behind her, seeing someone walking towards the door. She recognized him from somewhere, but she couldn't quite place it, deciding it was best to turn away than ask him about it. "Why don't we get some tea?" The question was oddly comforting to Ida, she thought the people she travelled with were only nice to her because of the fact that she was protecting them. "I heard you were from the colonies. Could I ask to hear about your life a bit more."

"R-Really?"

"Yes, if that's alright."

"May I ask why?"

"I like to think I am trying to understand how people could have ever treated someone like you so horribly in the past."

"That's quite the statement."

"Well, it's the only way I can understand how to better represent your group in my art. That is why I took so much time in Japan. To understand people I don't know well and represent them for how they are, not what those older than me thought they were." That had struck a cord with Ida, somewhere deep in her heart. It was the first time since she found herself here that someone truly tried to understand her for who she was, not that colour of her skin, not the skills she possessed. She let out a shaky breath, swallowing tears and nodded with a small smile.

"Sure."

The sun was high when the pair returned to the inn, the remaining artists stepping out of the entrance. "We were just about to look for you two. We are going to explore town." Ida just followed along, the tired expression on her face difficult to hide. Night soon came and Ida was grumbling as she walked into the sumo stadium. She was anxious, who wouldn't be when looking at all the men carrying swords with them and looked like they wanted to kill you. Plus her exhaustion was going to have her have slow reflexed. I can't wait for all of this to be over…Ida sighed, but stiffened when Serizawa, Kondou, and Sannan came up to them. At first she thought it was going to be for a fight but it turned out they were trying to cozy up with one of the politicians with her party. The tournament was in an intermission, so unfortunately there was no way she could try and shoo them off.

"Are you enjoying the matches, Ida-chan?" Sannan's smooth voice asked her, pulling her away from looking around the arena.

"I must shamefully admit that I don't quite understand Sumo. I'm used to much different styles of sport." She said quietly so she didn't attract the attention of the men chatting amongst themselves.

"It's quite simple." Kondou started, seemingly excited at the opportunity. "The goal is to step out the ring or get the opponent to touch the floor with something other than the soles of his feet."

"I feel like there is a lot more to it than that."

"Why do you say that?" Sannan asked.

"Well, all the aspects of the sport, before the actual fight. Like the salt throwing and clapping their hands?"

"The salt purifies the ring." Sannan said, smiling at the woman's curiosity.

"Purify?"

"Yes, Sumo is entertainment for the Gods."

"Oh? Then the clapping of the hands when they enter the ring?"

"Summons the Gods to entertain them." Kondou said, a smile ear to ear.

"Come, we need to return to our seats." Serizawa said, pushing past Ida with a distasteful glare while Sannan and Kondou quickly saying goodbye before catching up. The new found information of tradition and religion integrated into the sport, Ida found herself suddenly intrigued by it. It was different from the boxing that she had often seen at home and was less brutal. That alone, made it all the more enjoyable. But, what really intrigued her, was the fact that there didn't appear to be weight classes like in boxing, as a wrestler went up against another almost double his size and won.

Ida left the arena with a smile, having thoroughly enjoyed the second half of the tournament. Now all she wanted was to return to her room to sleep while she was in such a mood. She could see herself easily falling asleep, even if the patrons of the inn were loud. Before then, the group she was escorting decided it was best to eat something. The group struggled to find a restaurant that would let them in but they found one that happily welcomed them. Ida maintained her good mood throughout the meal but lost her excitement the minute they left the small restaurant after the tournament. Sumo wrestlers were surrounded by people and Ida squeezed towards the front of the crowd to see that Serizawa and Souji were in an argument with them. "Why are you scaring away those who pay for our sport?" One wrestler said, Ida looking closer to see a western man on the ground being helped up by some wrestlers.

Serizawa continued the shouting match but Ida realized this all started because they saw the westerners at the event. She couldn't step in to stop this, she knew it would make it worse. However she was brought into the argument instead, Serizawa noticing her off to the side, looking worried. "A wolf in sheep's clothing…"

"What!?" The Sumo didn't take that lightly. They suddenly surrounded Serizawa and Souji, Ida noticing the people around them looked incredibly uncomfortable about what was happening. The Sumos went to attack the two men that were insulting them but then they were on the other end of their swords. People were screaming and running, worried about getting in the fight and that they would get hit with a sword. Ida looked in shock at the dead wrestlers in front of her, she was surprised they could kill innocent people so easily.

"Do you want to be next?" Ida realized she was alone and Serizawa was staring at her when she looked up. Souji was behind him, his eyes narrowed as he watched her process everything. She was speechless, what the hell was wrong with these guys? "I'll take that as a yes." Serizawa ran up to her and started attacking her. Ida knew she couldn't pull a weapon, it would cause a bigger uproar than what he had done.

"Serizawa-san! Stop!" A voice yelled, but no one actually stepped forward to stop him. Ida ducked and weaved, dodging the sword as best as she could. She lucked out, he was slower than Hijikata, so she should be able to keep up. Ida was happy she could keep up and was feeling he was slowly down. She had to stop this and took the advantage to kick him in the side then a few punches to the face before kicking him again.

Ida didn't give him a chance to try and strike back. The second he fell to his knees she ran towards the inn to collect her things. When she was leaving, the artists gave her worried looks as she rushed out, heading to the port. Ida tried to come up with the best reasoning of have happened but she couldn't help with the Aizu leaders worries about the Roshigumi. She was present at the event and she couldn't change the facts.

Rumours were already going through Kyoto and had gotten to the Aizu before Kondou-san returned to defend his team. The week it took the Roshigumi to return, no matter how many times Ida tried to have the Aizu calm themselves about the event, every new rumour brought in new hesitations to have them join. Unconsciously, she thought everyone saw their potential but it worried her what type of potential they were looking for. After much frustration and taking Ninja with her, Ida started walking around the city, avoiding what she was ordered to do the day after Kondou returned to Kyoto.

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one things of changing [them]selves. - Tolstoy.

Anime » Hakuōki/薄桜鬼 Rated: T, English, Western & Drama, Hijikata T., OC, Y. Chizuru, Okita S., Words: 88k+, Favs: 6, Follows: 6, Published: Jul 21 Updated: Jul 23

chapter 4

Chapter 4

Italicized speech is the non-native language of the place they are in. I.E. if they are in Japan, "speech like this" is in Japanese while "speech like this" is not in Japanese.

Also, alert for language.

Hijikata was losing his mind over what had happened in Osaka, how Souji could be a part of it, and why no one else seemed to think to step in. It had been days since the group had returned and since they had not heard anything from the Aizu yet, he thought maybe they were in the clear. So, Hijikata, Kondou, and Sannan worked ahead to try and stop Serizawa first by creating a new honour code for their group. After all, with all the new members coming in, it was a great excuse to bring it together. Every veteran member would get a new slate and would run on a one strike rule. If any of the major rules were broken, it automatically meant seppuku. Serizawa was unconcerned but thought it best to try and start a test to see how far the men would go with these new rules.

Days went by and Kyoto was quiet and uneventful. The day was going by nicely, nothing new disrupting the group and simply welcomed the change in the seasons that could be felt. As noon past, the Captains and Commanders seemed to be enjoying the day until a low yell could be heard from the entrance. "Get out of here you crazy woman!" Serizawa's voice boomed into the open compound and echoed into the rooms, causing Kondou, Hijikata, and Sannan to rush to the entrance. New members were crowding the archways and the three pushed through to see Serizawa's back, but not who he was yelling at. "Filth like you are not welcome here!"

"I'm not here to see you so I'm telling you to step aside." The voice sternly said, just as commanding and intimidating as Serizawa's. "If you don't want to upset the Aizu, I would suggest you listen." Low growls could be heard along with the raised voice.

"Serizawa-san, do we have a visitor?" Sannan asked, an innocent smile gracing his features as he stepped towards the entrance of their compound.

"Nothing but trash."

"Only because that's how others see you." The voice snarked back quickly, enraging Serizawa more. Sannan walked up to the man and smiled at who he saw.

"Ida-chan, what can we do for you?"

"I am actually looking for Kondou-san, I would like to speak with him about something."

"Of course, come with me." Ida kept her eye on Serizawa as she walked by him to enter the compound, flinching for a second when she noticed all of the men looking at her. Some of these stares were slightly different than the ones she got in Britain. While some were similar, stares that threatened her and tried to intimidate her, other were genuine curiosity of who she was and why she was there.

"The mutt stays outside." Serizawa said, pointing to Ninja who was following close to Ida.

"It can at least come into the compound and sit outside the room." Kondou said firmly, smiling at Ida to try and take away her glare.

"Ninja, come" Ida said quietly, noticing a menacing glare coming from Hijikata and the brunette she had run into at the geisha house as they waited for her to catch up with Kondou. Hijikata didn't trust her; not only had she pulled a gun on another, but she had done so easily and it was unnerving to him. He and Sannan followed the girl and Kondou to one of the rooms that would allow more privacy with a better likelihood of someone not walking by as they were talking. "Sitz", Ida mumbled to Ninja just outside the room Kondou walked into and the companion watched her enter the room before laying down to keep an eye out.

The two others walked into the room and Ida worriedly looked at the two males that invited themselves in, hesitating to speak but did anyway. "I wish to speak wit-"

"Anything you say to Kondou-san you can say to us." Hijikata sternly said, his voice almost a yell.

"What Hijikata-san means," Sannan spoke up, "is that we are part of the command hierarchy. It is only appropriate for us to know what you are talking about."

Before Ida could speak up to try and kick them out, Kondou spoke up, "I would like them here, they could have different insights that I could use for whatever you have to speak about."

Ida could only sigh as she finally took a seat with the men, fidgeting a little to get comfortable before she started talking, but keeping her main task for a little later. "I know you two saw me in Osaka." She started, the two men that were present at the event straightening up in worry. "And I hope you realize I had to tell the Aizu about the event because rumours have been running wild."

"You were there?" Hijikata questioned, sounding like a sigh more than a question.

"The Aizu is curious as to why none of you stepped in." Ida glared, completely ignoring Hijikata's comment. "I couldn't even hide the fact that one of your captain's helped with the murder."

"That's a little harsh…" Sannan commented.

"It's the truth. They attacked and killed unarmed men who were standing up to their patrons. If that's not murder I don't know what else you would simply call it."

"You seem to have high standards for someone who doesn't understand the complexity of all this." Hijikata hissed, glaring at her from his corner by the door.

"I would watch what you say, Hijikata-san. I don't presume to know you, you best show me the same curtesy." Her tone was sharp and surprised Hijikata.

"Okay, okay, let's calm down." Kondou said in a quiet tone. "You're right, we should have stepped in. But, Serizawa is the commander, we follow his lead."

"And from my understanding of your group, you are a commander as well, Kondou-san." Ida turned to him and saw his dejected expression. "The Aizu like you and your willingness to work for them, you need to act like you are in charge here."

Sannan spoke up quickly, "Serizawa-san has all of our connections to get funds outside of the Aizu." He stopped there, knowing if he gave to much information, it would show the Aizu how fragile they really were when it came to finances.

"If you are worried the Aizu will leave you if that barbarian does, they are false concerns."

"You said the Aizu wanted you to pass on a message?" Sannan said, remembering what he had overheard during the commotion at the gate.

"Y-Yes, but I thought it best to see the situation before I told you." Ida paused, seeing that Kondou was rightfully nervous. Ida brought her voice down, "The Aizu wants you to take care of this problem." So she didn't have to say it, she pulled out the paper she had asked the Aizu rep to write out order so they knew it was legit. "As soon as possible." She added, knowing that this caused the young General significant stress. Ida passed the paper to Kondou and watched him and Sannan read it together before passing it to Hijikata.

"They can't expect this to be done so quickly." Hijikata stressed.

"Which is why I said as soon as possible. They know you have to come up with something and that it can't be done within a few days."

"What if we try to get him to change his ways?"

"I can't speak for the Aizu but if you think you can change him, by all means. But, Kondou-san needs to to control him one way or another." Kondou and Sannan worriedly looked at one another while Hijikata sternly looked at the Westerner in front of him.

"And why, do tell, does that Aizu have you running such important messages?"

"I like to think I've proved my loyalty." She smirked, trying to piss him off. Before anyone else could comment, Ida heard a whimper outside the door causing her to open it to see Ninja staring at something out of her view. Confused, she stood and checked to see that three men seemed to be trying to sneak towards the room and froze when they saw her. "It seems it's time for me to leave." She glanced back to the three she was talking to and bowed. "I do hope you take the message seriously, Kondou-san. The Aizu can lose their patience quickly if it is pushed too much." No one replied, they simply watched her put her boots back on before she and her companion made their way to the gate. However, she didn't get to far before she turned around and said, "I am not above offering assistance if you th-"

"We have no reason to trust you." Hijikata bit, causing Ida to not reply before she continued back to her residence.

"Toshi, maybe we should have accepted her help?" Kondou said quietly, knowing that there were people coming up the porch.

"I will not accept help from an outsider."

"It would raise less suspicion." Sannan thought out loud. "A westerner doing something like that to someone like him."

"Kondou-san," Souji's voice sang as he, Harada, and Heisuke walked into the room. "Is everything alright?"

"Perfectly fine, Souji." He smiled, welcoming the small group into the room and began talking about the new members that they would be introducing the next day. As the day became night, Hijikata couldn't shake the feeling that was pulling at him. By the night most were asleep, Hijikata found some newer members that were recently assigned investigator roles and asked them to come to his room to quickly speak about something. They bowed as they quietly walked into his room, sliding the door closed to receive a new order.

Ida sighed as she reached the compound, her feet sore from the detours she took both ways and was dying to eat something. Heading to the kitchen, Ida froze when there was a large group of men blocking the door. She wanted to turn and walk away to go out about buy something from town but knew it would be better not to do it, it would take too much time and effort. "Ninja, room." Stepping towards her destination, she tried to sneak in but they were blocking all the entrances. She just tried to squeeze through so she could quickly grab something that was left from the dinner the compound had earlier.

"Oya, there she is." One man said, a smirk on his face, grabbing onto the buckles that held her sword and pistol. "Where were you at dinner?" He slurred as he pulled her towards him.

"None of your business," she pushed him hard, causing him to fall and take another guy with him. Ida ignored the groans and glares as she noticed some hand rolls sitting on a tray.

"If you want us teaching you how to use at katana and kodachi, you better treat us well." One said, Ida turning to see it was one of the men that was usually training on his own when she would get up.

"Treat others how they treat you." Ida said under her breath, almost mumbling to herself as she tried to push through to leave but they didn't get out of the way. "If you want me to treat you better you need to get rid of that ego."

The man roughly grabbed her jacket when a gunshot suddenly sounded, causing everyone to flinch. "What's going on?" A voice yelled in English, causing everyone to start walking away, leaving Ida confused at what was going on.

"Henry, what are you doing here?" She quickly walked to him and looked down to him, even though he was still a teenager, he hadn't quite had his growth spurt yet. "I thought you were leaving with the artists?"

"Yes, well, I thought you could use some help here." He shyly smiled and Ida recognized it. Are you shitting me right now…She thought as she let out a breath.

"Henry, you need to leave. You're leaving in the morning with Sir Alcock."

"No, I'm staying. You can't make me." He stubbornly answered as he started following her to her room.

"What are you hoping to prove by staying here? That you can finally get away from your dad's influence? Try that back in Britain, not here."

"But, I like being with you." He admitted, as if laying his heart out for her to see. Ida stopped moving and turned around to see Henry staring at her.

"I know what you're trying to say and that's even a better reason for you to leave in the morning."

"You're just going to reject me like that?!" His voice held a hiss.

"You expect me to return your feelings after all those things your father put me through? What I'm still going through?" Ida turned away, the shocked expression on Henry's face obvious even in the evening light. "God speed, Henry."

Ida continued to her room on her own, turning to walk between two buildings and flinched when she saw the Lieutenant General standing there, a small apologetic expression on his face. "That was awfully gentle of you."

"How long have you been here?" She was surprised at his ability to pick up English so quickly and now she had to worry about if he was sitting around the corner listening to her conversations.

"I think just long enough." He smiled a little again before he sighed. "He's young, he'll get over it."

"He should have known better." Ida replied, continuing her steps to her room. "I'm assuming the gunshot caused you to run here?"

"Was it you?"

"No, it was the kid."

The Lieutenant General chuckled a little as he turned to walk with Ida. "Is what you said true? About his father?"

Ida swallowed as she set the tray on the porch to take off her boots, Ninja whining himself because he was getting hungry as well. "Sorry Ninja, one second…Respectfully, my past is nothing for you to know about. I'm here by Lord Milton's accord. I will also be leaving when he orders as well."

"Yes, but…" he paused as he watched her slide her feet out of the boots before pulling herself onto the porch. "…I would have hoped you would have started to enjoy your time here." Ida quickly turned to him with a shocked expression. "I know you are having a hard time, some of the men are being disrespectful to you but most of us like you. Outside of your abilities."

Ida bit the inside of her cheek to stop her from spewing out something stupid. She wanted to yell at him for knowing about things and not stopping them. But, at the same time she knew that it was unreasonable for her to expect that. "Yes, well, I think the faster things are settled the better. Excuse me, Lieutenant General…" she bowed and called Ninja to come into the room. Placing her tray beside the writing table, she opened the door on the other side and opened the latch that held Ninja's meal for the next few days. Throwing him the portion of ox leg, Ninja happily pranced to the main door and lied on the porch to start eating.

Suddenly, the Lieutenant's voice spoke up quietly, "I do hope that you think differently soon." Ida whipped around to see him walking away, looking up to the moon that was high in the sky.

Ida sighed as she walked towards the gate late the next morning with the translator, Augustus, that had been hired. The Aizu had asked him to stick around in case they could use his services again in hopes of getting more foreign art commissions. They had planned to go around town to search for some fabrics for the pair to start making their own clothes, mainly for Ida to learn how to. She had been used to her clothes being provided to her but no longer had that luxury. "I have no idea how I'm going to learn all this so suddenly," Ida chuckled as she entered a fabric store. She had turned to tell Ninja to stay put but remembered that she had not brought him for this very reason today.

"The colonies don't have many people making their own clothes anymore?" Augustus asked with interest.

"N-No," Ida nervously said, "My mom just spoiled me."

"A blessing and a curse," He joked, walking around the store trying to find something he could use. "Ahh, the fabrics are mostly cotton and silk here…" he mumbled to himself. "Is that what you were going to be looking for?"

"I think so." Ida began looking around and waved down the owner of the shop and began requesting what she thought she needed. The pair happily conversed with one another, Ida thinking that it was because she was dressed in a kimono. As she finished up her business, Ida thought she would pose the question to the owner. "It seems wool fabric is not very common…"

"As, yes. yōkufu uses a lot of wool in the winter, right?"

"Yōkufu?" Ida asked, confused by the word that she had never heard.

"Oh, it's the term for Western clothing." Augustus commented as he overheard the conversation. "Is there a place for us to purchase some wool fabric?"

"Hmm, I think there is a store the next street over run by a friend of my wife. Lately she has been having wool fabric in her store."

"Perfect, we'll stop there next then." Ida happily said as Augustus brought forward some black and dark blue silks and cottons to purchase for himself. "I'm surprised you know how to sew your own clothes, Augustus." Deciding to speak Japanese to make the owner feel more involved.

"My mom has a tailoring store back in England. I would help out when I would get home from school when I was younger," he nervously admitted.

"No that's great! I'm jealous you don't have such a big learning curve as me." She whined.

"I think you'll pick it up quite quickly." The owner smiled as he handed Augustus his change. The pair thanked the man and started heading towards the next store after the older man described what the building looked like. As they left the store, the overheard a commotion going on in the opposite direction and decided to check it out.

"Take him back to headquarters!" A voice yelled, causing Ida the knit her brow as she watched two men in blue haori pick up a knocked down man and carry him away.

"They're being kinda rough, no?"

Ida couldn't help but make that comment, the man really trying to fight back and people in the crowd starting to mumble about how they were better off to leave Kyoto. "They've been terrorizing Kyoto recently."

"Isn't that a strong word?"

"No, not from the stories I've heard while I've been out." He pulled her off to the side to get her to go towards the store they were originally heading to. Ida looked back when she heard another grunt and saw that Serizawa was accepting money from the store owner he had just come out of. "People don't trust Serizawa, he was born into being a samurai, they have no way of making money unless they are serving a lord."

"But, from my understanding, not everyone in that group was born into a samurai family."

"That's right. People like Kondou-san, people like those types. They aren't show-ey, they do their business and leave. It's unfortunate they have a few characters in their midst." Augustus entered the store and smiled happily at the old woman putting a fabric bundle in its place. Ida took a deep breath before entering the store. She was happy that the woman had fashionable dyed wool fabrics available, even in patterns that the pair could have gotten in England. Somewhat forgetting about the scene they had seen in town, the pair returned to the compound and got to work prepping the fabrics to make something out of them*.

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