Disclaimer: I do not own PMK or RK.

Chapter 20: Confrontation

Tetsu toyed with the dagger Saya had left behind at the scene. Why? She was trying to save him, was she? Where can she be? And where does Suzu fit in this? His wound was not too serious, despite the blood. He put it aside and joined the rest of his patrol. The atmosphere in the barracks was tense.

"Puppy-kun, you need not come..." Shinpachi looked weary as he stepped out of his room in his blue and white uniform. Their sources have confirmed the hideout of the rebels.

"It's alright. It's my duty," Tetsu patted his twin swords. Inside, he was nervous. This will be his first raid since Ikeda-ya. Tonight the Miburou will hunt. The prey this time...

"Shinpachi! If you see him..." Harada stopped. Shinpachi nodded. The giant patted his back and hobbled back into their room. Harada's leg has yet to heal after his tumble from the bridge. Yamanami has come down with a stomachache. Many of the men were pleading illness. Hijiaka did not press them. If they did not have the heart to fight...

Okita has been moved to an isolation ward as his condition worsened. He now turned away all visitors except Hijitaka and his page. Enough was enough, Hotaru decided. This evening, as Hijitaka and his men move out, she'll go and visit him.

She tidied up and left for the hospital. She was no longer the dizzy girl who hero-worshipped Okita-sama. She wanted to approach him as a friend. Okita has been difficult since they broke up. When she visited with Tatsu or Susumu, he would engage them with his chatter. When she visited alone, he found some excuse to avoid confronting that topic...

"Toshi?" Okita called out as the door creaked open. His face fell as Hotaru entered. "You don't look too happy to see me," she observed as she sat by his cot. He had lost a lot of weight and coughed constantly.

"Hotaru-san, you shouldn't have come, it can get messy..." he wiped his mouth as he coughed out more blood.

"I can handle the sight of blood, don't you worry," Hotaru countered. "I used to be a shinobi. Please, as a friend, don't turn me away. Everyone's worried about you, Okita-san." Okita realized that she had grown without him noticing into a confident young woman.

"You were a very poor shinobi. You fell off the roof when you stole my sketches."

"I couldn't read then. I'm learning from Susumu and Tatsu now. I'm no longer that girl who chased after you. Okita-san, can I stay with you until sunset? If you still treat me as a friend..." She stopped. That was not right...

Okita nodded slightly. "What we shared was a love like the summer, what we are left with is a profound friendship." He quoted from a kabuki play they had both enjoyed the previous summer. Yes, it was true. They will both treasure the memory of that summer-love and cherish the friendship they found in each other. She smiled with him.

"Hotaru-san?" Okita ventured. "Something happened at the HQ, didn't it? Toshi and Tetsu's been acting like cats on hot coals whenever I bring it up. Please, don't treat me like a little boy...can you tell me?" How could she deny him? Hotaru broke the bad news as gently as she possibly could.

The punishment for desertion is death. And the Miburou have no mercy as they closed in on the abandoned warehouse. They were greeted by forces that were both ill-trained and ill-armed. Most of the defectors were the younger recruits. It was a massacre. Tetsu stayed close to Hijitaka as they charged into the warehouse.

Tetsu parried a thrust by a man he knew by sight. Before he could recover, Tetsu slashed him across the chest. Was it a kill? No, the man was groaning. "Finish the job!" Hijitaka snapped as he drove his sword into the fallen man's throat. They were killing former comrades with whom they had sparred in the barracks.

Saitou showed no such hesitation to kill. After his thwarted duel with his arch enemy, he was in an unforgiving mood. Any rebel who crossed his path found that out to their demerit. Shinpachi led a small group of men towards the back of the building.

"Kondo!" Their leader stumbled as his thigh was slashed by his opponent. Hijitaka leapt to his rescue, slaying Kondo's opponent. "See to the wound!" Tetsu tore a strip off his sleeve. Kondo was losing a lot of blood from the deep wound. Hijitaka guarded them as Tetsu tried to staunch the bleeding.

Heisuke cut down several Miburou before Shinpachi found him. Heisuke's clothes were bloodstained, but he did not appear hurt. His sword was drawn and stained with Shinsengumi blood. Shinpachi steeled himself. It has come to this...

"Shinpachi, as usual, your stance resembles a duck's," Heisuke greeted him with a taunt he had often used during training. Normally, Shinpachi would have replied with a witty retort, this time it was different. "Just shut up and die!" Shinpachi hissed and drew his sword.

Their blades clashed. Heisuke sneaked in a slash that tore open Shinpachi's shoulder. Clutching his wounded shoulder, Shinpachi blocked a thrust. Then he spun the blade around to knock aside Heisuke's parry and sank it home into the former captain's chest. It was over.

Heisuke sank to his knees as he felt his strength flow away with his blood. "Shin...pachi...you've gotten better..." he gasped. It must be training with Harada that improved the smaller man's agility... He had lost. Hana-chan...she'll be waiting for him... With a smile, Heisuke closed his eyes. Too bad his unborn child will not know him...his wife will care for the child, wouldn't she?

Shinpachi realized he was shaking. His hands were sticky with blood. Toudou-san, you baka. The Comedian Trio, that's who they were Harada, Nagakura and Toudou. He watched as death slowly drained the color from Heisuke's face. Slowly, he drew out his sword...

"Wait..." Heisuke opened his eyes and used his last bit of strength to clutch Shinpachi's uniform. "T-tell Puppy-kun...Saya's at..." He never completed what he wanted to say. Shinpachi felt the grip on his uniform slacken as Heisuke's eyes dimmed.

"Heisuke! What's that about Puppy-kun's Saya!" Shinpachi shook Heisuke's shoulders to no avail. Shinpachi then realized he was crying. He wiped his tears with his bloodied sleeve, smearing blood onto his face, both Heisuke's blood and his own. Poor Puppy-kun. Any leads to Saya's whereabouts died with Heisuke.

Okita was having a nightmare. He was struggling waist-deep in blood as demon claws tried to pull him under. "Okita-san! Wake up; you're having a bad dream." A woman's voice was calling.

He awoke in a cold sweat to find Hotaru bending over him anxiously. "Hotaru-san? I thought you were going to leave when I fall asleep."

"I fell asleep too." After Okita dozed off, Hotaru had bribed the night-shift nurses with the tickets to the latest kabuki play to allow her to stay after visiting hours.

"Liar," Okita grinned. It was late, far too late for a woman to walk the streets of Kyoto during these uncertain times. He did not find her company unpleasant. They chatted until Okita finally dozed off, this time into a peaceful slumber. Hotaru stayed until sunrise.

Author's notes:

Finally, some overdue Shinsengumi action. Some OkitaHotaru fluff.