Canon is Peacemaker Kurogane; Character is Hijikata Toshizou

[demon_of_mibu]

You really can't seem to let me go, can you? After all this time.

If you're serious, prove it through your actions. I don't have time to waste on you if you're not prepared for that.

Comments

[notpissedoff]

Sir. This may be presumptuous of me, but... would it not make things more troublesome for you, if your mundane was goaded into action?

[demon_of_mibu]

[Hijikata scoffs quietly. Yamazaki's only occasionally presumptuous, and even when he is, he doesn't tend to particularly mind having his input.]

Infinitely. But I've begun to think it would still be better than her hesitance.

[notpissedoff]

[He nods in understanding.]

Any choice is preferable to indecision. I only hope her choice will prove to be in your best interests.

[demon_of_mibu]

Hoping isn't enough. A favorable outcome requires strategy.

[notpissedoff]

A strategy that would be effective against a mundane...

[...Does such a thing exist? But he's not about to question Hijikata. Not only is it not his place to do so, but the vice commander knows what he's doing, surely.] I trust you have one in place already. Is there anything I can do to assist?

[demon_of_mibu]

[He grins, just slightly. She's making icons again, whining about needing space for them--signs that his plan is working already. Why should the fourth wall keep people out of Hijikata's machinations?]

She and I agreed on one point--if she sends me anywhere, there almost certainly needs to be a Shinsengumi presence. We received one suggestion, but on investigation, it turned out to be unsuitable. Incompatible interpretations.

Do you have any ideas, Yamazaki?

[notpissedoff]

I am aware of three places where other Shinsengumi can be found, however it appears that you are already present in all of them.

There may be another option... my mundane has been considering sending me to a place with a strong Shinsengumi presence, but she states that they are not the Shinsengumi I know. I'm afraid I don't understand what she means by that, and she has refused to clarify.

[demon_of_mibu]

Mine has sent me to places like that. Twice, actually. [With other people from his own world, but still.] It's a workable situation, if somewhat obnoxious.

Where is yours considering?

[notpissedoff]

A city called Anatole. [ooc: Scorched]

Aside from these 'other' Shinsengumi, she believes there is the possibility of Ichimura Tetsunosuke turning up there at some point in the future, although I can't verify that. It's merely speculation. [Does he look pleased about any of this? No? Go figure.]

[demon_of_mibu]

I'll send her to look.

Ichimura could be useful, surprisingly enough. She seems to believe I need someone to babysit. [You don't babysit Yamazaki, you manage him. Souji and Ichimura, to some extent even Kondou, on the other hand...]

[notpissedoff]

[Another nod.]

I don't think it would be a disadvantage to have him around. He has shown potential. [A tiny bit. Maybe. And Yamazaki will just tactfully avoid that babysitting remark altogether.]

Is there anything else, sir?

[demon_of_mibu]

[Ah, tact. A virtue he thinks very highly of, in people other than himself.]

Any details on this city that you're aware of?

[notpissedoff]

The city itself seems unremarkable, if foreign. It has everything one would expect to find in a city of its size--a marketplace, businesses, residences, a harbour. However, it is encircled by an impenetrable mist that causes harm to anyone who ventures too far into it. This mist usually remains outside of the city, but on occasion it seeps in and creates problems. Strange creatures live within it, and I've heard that it can affect people's behavior.

I've also heard that people can gain new abilities in this place, and that abilities that they may have already possessed can be altered or even taken away.

...If there's an explanation to this that makes any sense, I'm afraid I cannot provide it.

[demon_of_mibu]

"New abilities"?

[notpissedoff]

...According to my mundane, some people possess unnatural powers that are actually commonplace in their own lands. These powers can be affected upon their arrival in Anatole, and people who have no such abilities can find themselves in possession of new ones. [Yamazaki sounds noticeably skeptical about this whole 'powers' idea, but all of his sources agree on it, so he'll relay the information and let Hijikata decide what he thinks of it.]

I can see no pattern to it; everyone seems to be affected differently.

[demon_of_mibu]

If there's no discernable pattern, it's probably at the mundanes' discretion. [Which he has evidently chosen to feel is no big deal. He's got his own healthy dose of skepticism, but he's learned to suspend his disbelief slightly when muns are involved, enough to view it as a possibility.]

If that's all, continue to monitor the situation. Keep me informed.

[notpissedoff]

Yes. That's the most likely explanation. [And probably the only one, considering muns' powers to warp reality. How he wishes they'd stop doing that. It's very annoying.]

[And Yamazaki bows deeply.] Yes, sir. [If there's anything more he can do... well, Hijikata knows he need only ask.]

[appleforyou]

Aww, how cute that she's still thinking about you~ ♥

[demon_of_mibu]

You.

{Oh, he remembers this one...]

[appleforyou]

[She takes a look around.] Who, me?

[demon_of_mibu]

Who else do you see here?

[Yamazaki having made himself scarce.]

[appleforyou]

Nobody but a big lout who doesn't know how to properly greet a lady ♪

[demon_of_mibu]

A lady? That's a stretch.

[Still, he'll pretend to try again.]

It's been quite a while. I see you haven't managed to starve yet.

[appleforyou]

[Tch. This guy...]

And I see you're still breathing. You should consider yourself lucky. ...Besides, without those damn birds in the way, why would I?

[demon_of_mibu]

[Hijikata is the most gentlemanly of gentlemen! ...For about five minutes, when he's got to pretend to be, sometimes. I think it happened once.]

Lucky? Ha.

I guess I imagined trouble would find its way to you with or without them; you did bring it on yourself last time.

[appleforyou]

Oh screw you, that was hardly an ordinary situation and you know it.

[demon_of_mibu]

True enough. But you certainly weren't making it easier on yourself.

[Often, he didn't mind that place so much. For all its indignities, it gave his people a lot of good things. Let him cure Souji, just for starters...]