Disclaimer: I do not own PMK. (Crosses fingers & prays the chappie wouldn't get chewed up again :P) This is the 3rd time already I'm loading this chappie, dun wanna shortchange the readers.

Chapter 7: Falling Rain

"Saitou-san! Stop being so stubborn!" Fujita yelled to be heard over the howling wind. The weather had worsened since they set off. Now they were stumbling amidst the dark and lashing rain.

"Shut up and walk, a bit of rain never hurt anyone!" The going was treacherous. Their feet kept slipping on the muddy path. Then Saitou stumbled and fell. Fujita steadied him. Cold, it was so cold both of them were shivering in their soaked clothes. Saitou finally relented as they spotted an empty woodcutter's shack off the path.

Okita stared out at the driving rain from where he stood on the veranda. Hajime and Tokio. How were they coping now? At least they will be dry and warm in the usual room at the inn. Somehow, he felt uneasy. The wind whipped his long hair from his face and tore into his yutaka. He sneezed.

"Souji, come in before you catch cold," Hijitaka called from inside their room. Okita stepped in and took the towel Hijitaka held out. He was soaked by the rain. He toweled off his hair and then his clothes.

"Change into some dry clothes!" Really, the boy can't take care of himself at times! Hijitaka peeled the damp yutaka off the young man and tossed it aside. The boy is thinner now... He forced another dry towel on Okita. "Thanks, Toshi." Okita smiled and dried his body before pulling on a fresh yutaka.

No point worrying, Okita crawled into his nice warm futon. "Good night," Hijitaka put out the lamp. Soon the older man was snoring. Let's hope Tokio doesn't jump Hajime that soon... Okita sniggered into his blankets. I'd love to see his face when she does!

"Kondo, how are we going to get out of this? Fujita Goro can't simply disappear," Yamanami kicked his slippers off at the door. He has been pondering that very obvious problem. "Other than exposing him as a she?" Kondo was indifferent. Yamanami nodded.

"Fujita's going to retire due to medical reasons... Let's leave it as that."

"Kondo, what medical reasons?" Yamanami looked up from the accounts book. "Dunno, just don't go writing he's a she. Then all of us will be committing seppuku, Hijitaka and Okita as well."

"They know?"

"Of course. Souji's no fool and he wouldn't be able to hide what he knows from Toshi." Yamanami winced at the mental image of the four of them committing ritual suicide. Saitou will bolt... and the next in line for the leadership will be the cockroach of a Fifth Patrol captain Takeda. Just think up something, maybe a crippling injury...

"Fujita-san, take off your clothes. They'll dry faster," Saitou poked the fire they had lit in the hearth. His clothes were drying near it. Fujita shook his head. The boy's shy, a bit like Okita. Okita has always been embarrassed of his skinny frame. He rarely took his bath with the men...

Tokio was cold. The damp cloth clung to her skin. She sneezed. Saitou felt his clothes and wore them when he found they were dry enough. "Fujita-san... it's no sense coming down with a cold from wearing wet clothes. Look..."

They both heard an ominous rumbling. Mudslide! Saitou tried to grab hold of his companion but it was too late. The hillside collapsed from the heavy rains and washed their shack away in a torrent of mud and debris. Saitou blacked out.

Notes:

I know it's a classic setting... Dark, stormy nite, couple out alone in the wilds. Guess what's next? Pls R&R. Inform me if it's been trashed again.