#i doubt many people look at the hakuoki tag anymore but my friends and i were IN IT a few years back djasasas

[puffybee-dreams]

April 1865

Character: Iba (Hakuoki) x Ellie (OC)

CW: Slight mentions of War; Archery

Word Count: 2170

Comments: I wrote this literally YEARS ago. But! Here it is! It's one of my favorite Ellie fics. I had to edit some of it so hopefully it sounds good! Thanks for reading!!

The morning light shone into the courtyard of the compound men who were still sleeping finally stirred from the futons all while Ellie stood among the men giving orders and directions to her morning class of future marksmen. Some of the lower-ranking men had been startled by her suddenly commanding presence. Up to this point she had been soft, polite, sweet even. Yet in this moment, transgression wasn’t at all tolerated in the presence of the mistress of the courtyard. Her assistants, Shinpachi & Sanosuke, hardly had time to correct the young men before she was on their ass. 

“Non! The left!” Her voice barked. The men only quietly obeyed. None wanted to meet the same fate as the first young man this morning who dared comment on the fact that they wouldn’t take orders from a woman.

“And why would I take orders from you? A woman’s job is to serve a man.” 

A loud resounding smack was heard as Shinpachi approached. Ellie gripped the man's ear and leaned in so close their noses were almost touching. 

“Listen well, you incompetent fuck. What matters is not the sex of the warrior. What matters is their aim and their ability to kill. If you’ve any problems with this I suggest you have a personal chat with Commander Hijikata.” 

Shinpachi watched, mouth agape. Sano came over and whistled. “I think we have a new assistant for training.” 

Shinpachi just watched on before snapping back to reality and smiling. 

“You tell ‘em, lil’ sis.” 

Ellie only shot him a grin before turning quickly and rattling out a new order.

Hijikata joined the bustling crowd with a grin on his face. He had witnessed her disciplinary plans and could only watch with a bemused smile. Seeing the four targets set up and men beginning to drift in and out of the way, filled him with a sort of pride. He was the one who gave the okay to organize this little training camp after all. Narrow eyes scanned the courtyard until his gaze finally landed on the dot of red perched on one of the compound walls. They were waiting on one single guest at this point. 

Ellie watched the perimeter and checked the wind pull from her perch atop the stone wall. The wind was coming from the east, but rather gently, she decided. Sanosuke joined her shortly after, his broad shoulder reaching the height of her dangling feet. He and Shinpachi had only been allowed to be her aids after they had passed her far too rigorous beginner training in the previous weeks. 

“You’re waiting until he gets here to start?” 

She smiled down at her fellow redhead. “Of course. I have to keep him on his toes.” 

The woman kicked her feet a bit as she waited for an all too familiar Okuzume to show himself. Blue eyes keenly watched the entrance to the courtyard as a familiar shadow appeared behind a particular shoji. Quietly, she nocked an arrow and took her aim. The post she locked her aim on was just next to where he would stand. 

Sano looked up at her, suddenly horrified.  “Oi, what are you…” 

He trailed off as she let the arrow fly, the sound turning heads. The shock caused even more heads to turn as the arrow from her bow landed no further than 12 centimeters from his left ear.

Shaking his head with a bemused smile and sigh, Iba looked at his dear friend. “Hello to you too, Ellie.” 

Kotaro immediately was set on edge and started scolding the young woman. “Ellie! You could have seriously hurt someone!” 

Hijikata only shook his head, sighing. The woman, on the other hand, spoke to the crowd of men. “Control will be the most crucial thing in your training. Had I no control, our dear guest here would have been dispatched and I would have been too. You will not shoot at others during your training. Do I make myself clear?” 

An awestruck hush blanketed the courtyard. Ellie frowned and lifted her chin before bellowing. 

“DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?”

 A loud affirmative shout filled the courtyard as she jumped down and gestured to her male companions.

 “Pass out the Yumi. I’m gonna go welcome our guest.” 

Knowing their close relationship, Shinpachi could only bellow with laughter before he barked orders at the men to line up. Ellie slipped the body of her bow across her chest and trotted over before giving Hachiro a tight hug. 

“Sorry, I didn’t warn you sooner. I only had the idea this morning.” 

He shook his head. “It’s fine. I expect these kinds of shenanigans from you. And besides, I trust no single archer in all of Japan more than I trust you.” 

Feeling her face flush from the compliment she elbowed him softly. “I’m supposed to be in charge here. Don’t start flattering me now. I may go easy on you when I teach you.” 

His face dropped. “But...I was just invited to watch. Your letter said-” 

She smirked at him. “A small white lie. Payback of course.” 

She then turned on her heels, his eyes watching her as she walked away, noting the hakama on her legs swaying in the wind despite being bandaged in place. He couldn’t help but marvel at the way her voice, usually so kind and gentle, bounced off of the walls as if it were Hijikata speaking instead of the female.

“OKAY MEN! LISTEN UP!”

~~~

The sun was hot on everyone’s shoulders and necks. By this point, many of the men wondered where this small French woman got her commanding voice. Coupled with the fact that she was supported by Shinpachi and Sanosuke only filled them with more unease. Yet this was the selfsame woman who in the most cocksure manner possible left to and from Edo on diplomacy trips and information exchanges. 

Hachiro, on the other hand, watched in complete awe. He was swiftly reminded why he often questioned his desire to protect her. She was clearly well-trained and taught to take care of herself. These trains of thought often stirred warm thoughts of her missing father. They both searched for the missing man nearly constantly. He hadn’t dared to tell her the truth. How was he supposed to tell her that the shogunate was quickly losing interest in their search; that soon they would be the last two to care? He couldn’t let her down but he couldn’t deny that she had likely already noticed his visits and subsequently their trips were becoming less and less frequent. 

He just didn’t have it in him to break her heart like that. 

The men were dismissed for lunch and subsequently freed from their lessons. Ellie, now glistening with a healthy sheen of sweat, trotted over to Iba smiling widely. “What did you think?”

 He smiled at her, passing her a towel. “Your skills are quite impressive. One would think you’ve been doing this your whole life.” 

He teased her jovially as she scrunched up her nose. 

“I have. My father wouldn’t have had it any other way.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

 Shortly after the lighthearted exchange, Inoue brought the pair a small platter of onigiri. After their polite and formal “thank you’s” were shared the pair were left alone in the otherwise vacant courtyard. Picking the nori off of her rice ball, Ellie made a face as she laid it on the plate. 

Her male companion shook his head, tousling his brown locks. “You still have no taste for it?” 

She stuck her tongue out. “Not at all. If anything it tastes worse every time I try it.” 

A chuckle bubbled past his lips as they ate their lunch in peace. It was such a stark contrast to the events of the morning where Ellie - the woman, as Iba knew her, was replaced by Ellie - the Colonel’s daughter, as she was known by all the men here. If he hadn’t known her any better he would have been shocked beyond all measure. 

Once Ellie had finished eating she wasted no time standing up and grabbing her personal Yumi, a gift from her companion himself. 

“Now. It’s your turn.” 

She held the bow out to him. His eyes widened as he saw her smile, kinder still than the one that warped her face in a look of complete satisfaction as men finally understood the bare-bones basics of shooting an arrow. 

He lifted both of his hands in front of him, waving them back and forth slightly. 

“I'm sure I'll only disappoint you. After all, your shooting is second to none. And I have my katana. I haven't any need for a bow or archery skills." 

Ellie pulled her lips back in an unconvinced smile. "Are you scared to shoot a bow?"

 Hachiro looked at her, indignant. "I have two blades at my hip. Weapons don't scare me." 

She then lifted her chin proudly. "Ohhhh so you're afraid of looking foolish in front of a pretty girl, is that it?" 

His cheeks began to flush a rosy shade. That was his fear exactly. 

Gathering his dignity he stood, sighing. She certainly knew how to push his buttons. She grabbed the sleeve of his kimono, pulling him towards the middle of the courtyard among the scattered arrows she would have to clean up after the fact. The young man allowed himself to be pulled and placed into position. He never doubted her shooting. He remembered seeing her father train with her. 

Anton had been relentless. He would throw cheap pottery scraps for her to shoot and hound her with orders and commands. In those moments she was no different than a soldier in training. Being removed from his memory, the young diplomat sighed as Ellie placed the bow in his hands. She stood in front of him and looked him over with a smile. 

"You look so... uncomfortable. I'll go easy on you. I promise. This is more for fun than anything. It's useful to know of course. But… I don’t know. Perhaps I wanted to spend time with my friend." 

Her smirk melted into something much softer as she eyed him and helped him nock an arrow. 

"Okay. I'm standing behind you. Just pull back and let it go." 

Iba pulled the weapon up into the air as he'd seen her do so many times before. Pulling back was difficult. He hadn't expected the string to be so unforgiving. Ellie held back a soft giggle as he tried his best to force the string into position. Once he finally got it pulled back to any extent he let go of the fletching gripped in his fingers. 

The pair watched as the arrow, flying in an all too anticlimactic arc, clattered to the ground, staring back as if it were mocking the prestigious swordsman. Sighing, he straightened his shoulders and tried again only to achieve the same result. Pressing a fist to her lips, Ellie nodded as he reached for another arrow she softly stepped towards him.

Feeling her arms securely around him caused Hachiro to freeze a bit, nearly fumbling to grab the arrow. "Here, I'll help you." 

Before she did anything she snorted. "Well, first of all, your stance is terrible. Here." Her hands grabbed his hips and adjusted them. 

"Your shooting is very loose. You're trying to sword fight with a bow. Tighten up here." She adjusted his right leg. 

"But loosen up here." her hand went to his sides. 

Her training with the foot soldiers hadn't been nearly this intimate. He was stiff now because she was so close, and maybe it helped his form. He had no idea with his mind as foggy as it was. Shaking his head to collect himself he felt her return to her original position, holding him from behind and supporting the places his hands rested. 

"Now pull back." 

Pulling the cord was much easier from this angle. She smiled and stepped back. 

"Now fire!" 

He let go and hit the outermost edge of the target. But it was a hit nonetheless. 

"Excellent! Now do it again!" Ellie cheered him on. 

Unknowingly his chest puffed out as his ego inflated a bit. Hachiro swiftly and gracefully nocked an arrow and pulled back. It was a bit more difficult but he had barely budged from his position. He couldn't mess up now. He released his fingers and the arrow flew straight and true...right towards the ground. 

Ellie giggled as Hachiro let out an exasperated sigh. 

"You tilted down unknowingly. It happens. But! I think that's enough fun for today. I'm sure Hijikata wants to hear what we thought of the lesson this morning." 

Shaking his head and smiling at her, he happily handed the bow back to her. "That sounds far more pleasant than ruining the landscaping." 

Ellie giggled as she slipped the bow around her. "C'mon then. I'll make some tea too. Shimada picked up a really nice new black tea blend."