Hello again nn! It's me. With another pointless chapter! Whoo! And, in any case, this one might bore you a bit - I wanted to get Yamanami, Akesato and Saya out of the way so that I can focus on the more entertaining and funny characters. Hijikata shopping, for example, is halarious oO;

It occured to me while writing this however - I don't know what the heck thecharacters are supposed to get Tetsu for his Birthday. For one, I'm not a 16 year old boy, and for another, what the hell did they give each other back in the 1800's? Help me! If you can think of /anything/ that they can give them, tell me!

Disclaimer: I don't own Peacemaker, but I want to own Hijikata's cool hairstyle.

Chapter Two
Convincing

"Wow! Yamanami-san! I didn't think I'd see you here again today!" Akesato stated, looking with bewilderment at the older man, tilting her head to the side. She'd never known Yamanami to leave, then come back two hours later. That just wasn't like him… perhaps… perhaps he loved her enough to finally take her away! … Wait… that would destroy Yamanami's part in the storyline. In any case, she was still surprised to see him.

"Well, yes, I came to tell you some great news." He stated, stepping inside of Akesato's brothel. "It's Tetsu-kun's Birthday, and we were all hoping that you and Saya could attend as well."

"It's a party?" Akesato asked, clasping her hands in front of her – this was the first party she was invited in that didn't involve some sort of unspeakable things.

"Yep." Sannan replied, "It's been a long time since I went to a party that didn't involve things that I can't speak about in public."

Akesato sweat dropped. The pair of them were alike in more ways than one.

"So, you will come, won't you, Akesato?"

As per usual, the pair of them had taken to a vacant room, and Akesato was now contemplating whether or not to come. "But what about my business?"

"I'm sure they can handle themselves for one night." Yamanami stated, crossing his hands over his chest. "It's just for a few hours after all."

"Oh… alright. I'll have to get Say- There you are."

Saya poked her head around the door. She'd been heading back to her own room to get refreshed, and was trying her hardest not to get noticed. Now that she had, she swore in her mind.

"Come in, Saya, come in!"

Saya sighed, and quietly entered the room, sitting in a way that would make a triangle out of the three. As usual, she was mute.

"Guess what day it is today, Saya?" Yamanami asked.

Saya tilted her head.

"It's Tetsunosuke Ichimura's 16th Birthday!"

Saya blinked. In truth, she hadn't even considered that he actually had a Birthday. Not in a mean way, but the thought had just never crossed his mind. "So, we're going to take the night off to go to his surprise Birthday party, okay?"

Saya twitched. Surprise Birthday party? Didn't that mean that they all had to jump up and yell "SURPRISE!" at the top of their lungs? She could just imagine herself, jumping out from her hiding place… but not joining in. She'd look stupid! So stupid!

Saya nodded.

"Well, we all have to go Birthday shopping then." Yamanami announced, standing. "You pair are coming, correct?"

"Oh… okay." Akesato nodded, feeling quite uneasy about leaving her business.

"Tetsunosuke Ichimura's 16th Birthday… huh?"

Yoshida grinned slightly. A small grin forming around his mouth, "Perhaps… Suzu…"

The pair had been in the room beside the one that Yamanami and Akesato had chosen, and with the pair talking so loudly to Saya, it had been hard not to over hear it.

"Yes, Master?" Suzu blinked, tilting his head in Yoshida's direction.

"We should attend this birthday party…"

"Ourselves?"

"No, I meant you."

"Oh."

Yamanami sighed. "I never thought it would be this hard to buy for Tetsunosuke!"

Akesato was equally irritated. Saya, on the other hand, had brought Tetsu as small piglet doll – she knew that Tetsu would be happy with whatever it was that she brought him. Such were the powers of a woman of his own age.

"The only thing I can think of that Tetsu would want would be a sword." Sannan sighed, scratching the back of his head. "But Toshi would kill me if I gave him one."

"This is a dilemma. Well then. Perhaps… we should get him new writing materials?"

"Writing Materials?" Akesato asked.

"Yes. I hear that Toshi's always forcing lines on him for not doing what he's told. It'd be handy if he had his own gear."

"That's a great idea!" Akesato stated, clapping her hands together in a rather Souji like way. "I'm sure Hijikata will be thrilled that he won't have to waste all his writing materials on Tetsu!"

"I'm not sure that Tetsu's the one who wastes them actually…"

"Well then, it's settled!" Akesato stated, ignoring Yamanami. She'd been around him long enough to know that Souji liked to infuriate all the Shinsengumi members by writing them weird letters.

It didn't take very long for them to find the shop that actually sold the supplies – and they brought the cheapest ones there, surprisingly enough for Yamanami – and made their way to the Shinsengumi headquaters.

"Now, Saya." Akesato said in a serious voice, "You can't tell Tetsu-kun about the party, okay?"

Saya blinked. How the heck was she going to tell Tetsu about it anyway?

"Yamanami-san, Akesato-san, Saya!" Tetsu was still sitting in the dojo, he'd given up cleaning for being rebellious.

"Ah! Gomen, Gomen, Tetsu-kun, but we can't chat. Yes, we have uh… important… stuff… to do! That's it! Stuff!" Sannan had never been very good at keeping secrets. "So uh, yeah, lets go. See you later, Tetsu-kun!"

"Great." Tetsu muttered, lying on his back again. "Now it's Saya too. It's enough that Yamanami and Akesato don't want to see me… damn this is a bad day."

Sorry for the shortness of the chapter! I really am! Don't kill me! Twitch