Disclaimer: I do not own PMK or RRK.

Author's notes:

Fortune telling at Japanese shrines: you get the fortune printed on a piece of paper. If it's a bad one, you tie it on a rack provided at the shrine in the hope of adverting misfortune.

Chapter 10: Paper Cranes

Tetsu seemed to be recovering from his loss. Ichimura Tatsunosuke watched as his brother prayed and made the offering at the shrine. He was a bit upset to see him simply drop the coin into the box rather than walk the paces as he normally did. Some things can't be rushed...Then Tetsu went to have his fortune told.

He returned with a big smile on his face. "Tatsu-nii! My fortune says I'll be meeting my former love in the new year! When do you think I'd meet Saya again? I know she must be alive, she gotta be!" Tatsu saw the hope shining in Tetsu's young face.

When Tetsu wasn't looking, Tatsu took the piece of paper and tied it to the 'bad fortunes' rack with a prayer to avert any disaster that awaited his little brother. Tatsu knew that there was little hope Saya can still be alive. They stopped to buy sweets for Okita-san who had taken to his bed.

Okita was happy to see them, and the sweets. Hijitaka hovered about his patient, ready to evict the visitors if they proved too rowdy. The Comedian Trio had already been evicted from Okita's room. Harada had a bump on his head where Hijitaka had been obliged to hit him with his pipe. The pipe broke, much to Hijitaka's disgust. Saizou, wise little pig, had learnt to be quiet and thus avoid eviction. He now snuggled in his young master's lap.

"Ichimura-kun, Tetsu-kun, nice to see you," Okita playfully balanced the pig on Tatsu's head. "Are those sweets for me? Arigato! Did you buy some for the kids at the Temple School? I wonder how Yumi's doing now...She's been learning the flute and promised to play it for me...Are the Honda twins still fighting with each other, they really should make up..."

Tatsu listened to Okita's cheerful chatter. Suddenly, he slammed his fist against the floor. "Okita-san! I really speak to you about this. You can't keep avoiding it!" The smile died on Okita's face. Tatsu took a deep breath and continued.

"Don't you think you're being unfair to Hotaru-san?" Both Tetsu and Hijitaka gave a gasp. The mood instantly turned icy. Okita glared at Tatsu who faced him with surprising courage. Okita was in one of his demon moods. Tetsu could sense in that malevolent glare. Saizou wisely vacated his perch on Okita's lap.

"Get out! GET OUT NOW!" Okita yelled at the brothers with such ferocity that even Hijitaka was taken aback. He took both brothers firmly by their collars and dragged them out. Shutting the door, he turned his attention to Okita who was by now coughing profusely.

"Souji-chan," Hijitaka wiped away tears from Okita's face and cleaned away the trickle of blood. "Ichimura-san's right. What's it with you and Hotaru-san? You've been very cold to her recently. Don't you love her?" He was in alien territory. Hijitaka had never experienced romance other than the occasional fling with courtesans. He had the reputation, deserved or otherwise, of being a rake. No sane woman ever considered him husband material.

"Dammit! I love her, that's why..." Okita cried. It hurt him to be unkind to her. It hurt real bad. Yet he must...Hotaru's a good girl, she deserves better...a lot better...

Hotaru was confused and hurt. She just wanted to be at his bedside, to nurse him through his illness. Yet he had refused to see her. It was painful hearing his cough, knowing of his pain...but being powerless to comfort him. She folded up the laundry. She found Yamazaki in his room when she came with his clean clothes. He was working intently at the table by the light of a lamp.

"Yamazaki-san, what are you folding?" The shinobi had a stack of colored paper on his table. He was folding one in his hands. Susumu's fingers were surprisingly nimble as he worked. Finally he revealed the finished product. A little paper crane.

"It's a tradition in the village where we were raised," Susumu said the 'we' with a tinge of sadness. "You write your wish on a piece of paper, fold it into a crane and hang it by the window. The kami will receive your wish and make it come true. I'm writing my wishes for the coming year."

"Can you help me write mine? I can't write..." Hotaru selected a soft pink piece. Susumu nodded and penned down her wish. It did not matter now if he has stopped loving her. All she wanted was for him to recover. They waited for the ink to dry. Then Susumu taught her how to form it into a tiny crane. She strung it on a length of cotton and...

"Hotaru-san! The lamp!" Too late. The flame caught the paper crane. Hotaru tried to beat the flames out to no avail. Within seconds, only a pile of ashes was left along with a scorch mark on the tatami where it had fallen. Without knowing why, Hotaru cried.

"Hotaru-san?" Susumu ventured awkwardly. Sometimes, silence was the best...

Tetsunosuke. Saya penned his name on a scrap of paper. Then she scrunched it up and threw it aside, hitting Suzu who was sitting on the other side of the screen. You miss him, don't you? Suzu smoothed it out from curiosity and saw the tear smudged words.

"Saya, why don't you go to him then?" Suzu shrugged. He could never figure out girls, and probably never will. Tetsu. Of course, one day they'll have to settle their differences. Having Saya with him now is not going to change that. Suzu cleaned his katana the way his sensei had taught him.

Kenshin contemplated his life as a peasant. He didn't find it unpleasant, having Tomoe about was its own reward. The others, well, Saya was very quiet and very unobtrusive, he sometimes forgot she was there. Suzu was sometimes a pain to have about but overall a good kid, a bit naïve perhaps. Yoshida probably never taught him much, he's gotta learn stuff the hard way as Hiko has allowed Kenshin to learn.

Tomoe's bratty kid brother visited and left after what appeared to be a quarrel with his sister. Afterwards, Tomoe seemed worried and distracted. He really ought to help Tomoe loosen up a bit. Let's see, home-cooked food with a spot of sake...Kenshin took out some money and made his way into town.

Author's notes:

Paper cranes. A popular belief is that if you fold 1000 cranes for a sick person, the person will recover. The wishing crane story is a total fabrication.