I don't own Peacemaker or any of it's characters, I only own Din Hinto.

Enjoy!

One simple day had passed since the day Din saw Hijikata once more, and everything seemed as if it had returned to normal in the short time. In fact, it seemed as if nothing had happened at all with Din, the only thing talked about which happened on that day was when Hijikata ran into the bounty hunter. Other then that, the day seemed to be pretty normal to anyone outside of Hijikata, Souji, Kondo, the trio, and Tetsunosuke. And maybe it because only those seven people knew of it, that it seemed to disappear so quickly.

It was now Monday, meaning that it was time for the trio's trip to Tarason Bakery in order to see Din and find out exactly what had been going on, and what was now going on. They set off around three or so in the afternoon, right after Souji had returned from running a small errand of his own.

"Let's find out what this is all about," Shinpachi said as he walked towards the bakery.

The three of them walked inside and found Din sitting at a small counter, looking outside of a window, towards the sky. It looked as if she were waiting for someone to come to her, the way her eyes were, looking out longingly and patiently.

"Din-chan!" Sanosuke called as he walked in and over to her. She perked up after hearing her name being called and smiled.

"Hey," she replied.

"What's this I hear about our Din-chan being engaged?" Heisuke asked as he leaned against the counter.

Din blushed. "You found out?"

"Who's the unlucky guy?" Shinpachi teased as he hit Din on her head. "And where is he?"

"Oh." Din coughed a bit. "He's out there somewhere." Din looked out towards the window once more, just as she had been when the trio arrived.

"So does he actually exist or not?" Heisuke asked with a laugh, even though a part of him was really asking. To him, it looked as if Din might have just lied to Hijikata about being engaged to get under his skin.

"Yes." Din glared towards Heisuke. "I wouldn't lie about something that important."

"Not even to get back at an old flame?" Sanosuke asked as he leaned in towards Din, hoping to cause her to crack and spill everything.

"Okay." Din stood up, slamming her fists down onto the counter below her. "How the hell did you three find out everything? Did Hijikata spill to you or something?"

"But is it true?" Shinpachi asked, dropping the funny act and now becoming serious. "Is it true that you and Hijikata-sama were in love ten years ago?"

Din crossed her arms. "I don't get where you got your information from but I'd rather have you hear it from me then someone else." She sighed. "Yes, Hijikata and I were in love ten years ago, but everything's gone now."

"And you never told us!?" Shinpachi yelled. "How could you?"

"He told me not too!" Din argued. "He wanted to keep it a secret so I wouldn't get hurt! But…it backfired."

The group was quiet for a few minutes, taking in everything that had just been told. They searched their minds, trying to think of something, anything that would prove both Tetsunosuke and Din's stories but they couldn't. It just seemed hard to picture the two together when all three of them were standing there ten years ago; not knowing while this went on.

"Did you…ya know…" Heisuke asked as he looked at Din. "Lie down together?"

Redness passed over Din's face once more. She shook her head quickly and then hissed towards the trio. "Personally, I don't think it's any of your business."

"You did didn't you?" Sanosuke answered for her as he crinkled up his nose in disgust. "Din-chan! You told us you were going to save it for marriage!"

"Oh shut up," Din hissed. "What happened back then was and is none of your business."

"Excuse me?" a man asked as he walked into the store. "Could I get some help?"

"Oh yes sir." Din hopped up and walked around the counter. She stopped walking for a moment and turned to the three behind her. "Look, Souji-kun invited me over for dinner tonight, I'll talk to you more then okay?"

"Okay Din-chan, whatever you want," Sanosuke answered as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"I guess we'll see you at dinner," Heisuke said as he and the others began to walk out of the store.

"See you at dinner!" Shinpachi called as they walked out of the store and back onto the streets that were littered with people.

The trio walked down the streets, heading back to the Shinsengumi dojo. They each were thinking about something different, but mostly about Din and everything that happened ten years ago. It wasn't until they were half way home did someone say something that sparked a new adventure.

"Hijikata-sama really broke Din-chan's heart didn't he?" Shinpachi asked as he sighed. It was weird to say something like that because he had always known Din to be strong and never let anything bother her; they hadn't even seen her cry before.

"Yeah I guess," Sanosuke answered. "They won't even talk to each other now."

"We need to find Din-chan a new man," Heisuke said as he walked along the other two.

"But she's engaged," Shinpachi pointed out. "She's got a new man."

"You believed her?" Heisuke asked as he looked towards the red head.

"You think she's lying?" Sanosuke asked with concern.

"She never told us about Hijikata-sama and every woman knows that the best way to anger a man is to tell them that you've moved on when they haven't," Heisuke said as he pointed his index finger upwards and nodded. "We need to find her someone who's the exact opposite of Hijikata-sama."

"Like?" Shinpachi asked as he and the others turned the last corner to get to the dojo. The smell of burning leafs filled the air as they got closer and closer to the dojo.

"Someone nice, someone who could take care of her," Heisuke began. "He has to be a stay at home kind of guy since Hijikata-sama's the kind of guy you can't control."

"Well who do we know that's like that?" Shinpachi asked as they entered the Shinsengumi gates.

"And I doubt she wants another swordsman," Sanosuke pointed out. "After all, one's already broken her heart so why would she trust another one?"

"Who do we know that is not a swordsman, nice, smart, and is an at home kind of guy?" Shinpachi asked as he, Sanosuke, and Heisuke stopped walking and looked inward towards the Shinsengumi entrance.

The smell of burning leafs was strong, telling the three men that someone within the gates was burning leafs. A scraping sound was heard, causing the three to look to the right where they say Tatsunosuke pushing leafs into a black pit where dead leafs of the same color were burning.

"He's burning the last of the leafs already." Sanosuke commented as he watched Tatsunosuke push more leafs into the fire with a small stick he had found.

"Summer's really gonna get going…," Shinpachi said with a sigh. "I hate to have all of those cold days end. They were great excuses not to train."

"That's it…," Heisuke whispered.

"What?" Sanosuke and Shinpachi asked as they both leaned over and looked at their black haired friend.

"Tatsu-kun! He's perfect!" Heisuke yelled as he pointed towards Tatsunosuke, causing him to look up from the burning leafs.

"You were the one who said they wouldn't work!" Shinpachi yelled as he rolled his eyes.

"I did?" Heisuke asked as he looked up towards the sky, trying to remember when and if he said what Shinpachi was accusing him of.

"'No offence or anything but Din-chan's difficult, I don't know if you could handle her,'" Sanosuke said as he mimicked Heisuke. "That's what you told Tatsu-kun!"

"Well I changed my mind!" Heisuke yelled.

"You can't do that!" Sanosuke yelled.

"Says who?"

Tatsunosuke watched in wonder about what they were talking about. All he knew was that he had heard his name but figured that it must have been something stupid so he went back to pushing leafs into the burning pit, getting rid of the leafs that had fallen early.

"Hijikata-sama!" Souji said happily as he opened Hijikata's sliding door.

"Yes Souji-kun?" He answered as he turned around, his pipe smoking away in his mouth as he wrote something down on a white piece of paper. Kondo was sitting in front of him, looking serious.

"Can I have a guest over for dinner?" Souji asked.

"Who?" Hijikata twitched. He didn't like to have visitors who didn't have to be over, this was a police unit, and he wanted everyone in it and coming to it to be and act professional.

"Uh…" Souji looked around nervously.

"Souji-kun?" Hijikata asked in his serious tone, almost demanding.

"Din-chan…," Souji answered.

Hijikata twitched. "No."

"But—"

"No."

"Yes," Kondo interjected.

"What?" Souji and Hijikata asked together as they looked at Kondo in shock.

"I say that Din-chan can come over for dinner tonight," Kondo said once more as he crossed his arms and smiled.

"Kondo-kun," Hijikata hissed as he glared towards the other man.

"You don't have to see her so don't worry," Kondo said gently, trying to please both sides of the argument. "Souji-kun, it's okay as long as you keep Din-chan in the main dining room."

"I will," Souji said with a smile. "Thank you Kondo-sama."

Souji bowed down to his two commanding officers and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Hijikata looked towards Kondo only to see that he was smiling back at him. Hijikata sighed.

"Souji-kun was and still is very close to Din-chan, he deserves to see her once in awhile," Kondo explained, trying to make Hijikata see how close Souji and Din were. "But Toshi-kun?"

"What?"

"Are you really going to shut Din-chan out of your life completely?"

Kondo knew just how much Hijikata had loved Din ten years ago, and he figured that those feelings couldn't just disappear into nothing. Well, he didn't think that Hijikata could do something like that.

"Yes."

Kondo didn't say anything more for he knew that once Hijikata was stuck on something, there was no way that he would be talked out of it. He just shook his head back and forth he decided to drop the whole subject until a thought came to his mind.

"What would you do if she came here and asked someone else to marry her?" Kondo asked.

"She can do anything she wants to," Hijikata answered as he began to write once more. "As she said she's allowed to love now that she knows that we're over so I don't care. Why?"

Kondo laughed a bit. "There are many men in this place, single, looking for a woman. I just thought how odd it would be if she fell for a member of the Shinsengumi that's all."

"I don't care. Besides she's not single. "

"Toshi-kun…"

"What?" Hijikata asked, now irritated by Kondo's questioning of something he was trying to let go of.

Kondo smiled back towards the demon. "It's nothing."

"Excuse me," a voice said from outside the sliding door. Hijikata and Kondo looked towards the door.

"Enter." Hijikata hissed.

The door slid to the side, and Yamanami walked in with a slight smile on his face. Hijikata twitched to see that it was he, not too happy to see the face that often argued with him.

"Hi Sannan," Kondo said cheerfully.

"I just came in to ask who we were having over for dinner tonight," Yamanami began. "Souji-kun was outside all excited about someone coming over for dinner and staying for sake."

"She's not staying for sake," Hijikata said as he glared towards Yamanami.

"She?" Yamanami asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Souji-kun asked Din-chan to come over for dinner," Kondo explained as he looked towards Yamanami.

"Din-chan?" Yamanami began to think for he had forgotten the meaning of the name. A part of him felt somewhat stupid for forgetting who Din-chan was but then again he figured that she must not have been that important if he had forgotten her.

"Din Hinto…," Kondo said, hoping to remind him of who she was. "I think the last time you might have seen her was ten years ago."

Yamanami brought his hand to his chin; thinking and then the image of Din hit him. "Oh yes Hinto-san! I remember now! It has been ten years since I've last seen her."

"She came over the other day when you had left and now Souji-kun has invited her over for dinner," Kondo explained. "But he didn't say anything about sake."

"You two can have sake with her," Hijikata said, causing Yamanami and Kondo to look towards him in question. "As I've said before, I want nothing to do with her."

"Come now Toshi-kun!" Kondo protested. "We could all have sake together, just like the first time. It will nice to have Souji-kun, Din-chan and us three together again."

"I really don't know if I could be there as well," Yamanami interjected, almost causing the kind hearted Kondo to become frustrated.

"Why not?" Hijikata asked, as he looked at Yamanami in question.

Yamanami pushed his glasses up with his index finger. "Well…I've never really been fond of Hinto-san."

"What?" Kondo asked breathlessly.

Kondo and Hijikata couldn't understand why Yamanami had a problem with Din. He had never spoken of it before nor had he ever acted like it around her. Maybe it was because he wanted to be respectful towards Hijikata because he knew of how Hijikata felt, or maybe it was just plain respect for her. Whatever the reason, Yamanami had never made it apparent that he didn't like Din.

"What's wrong with her?" Hijikata asked as he glared over towards the man he had known for so long.

"I've always seemed to have this issue with her…," Yamanami began. "It seems to me that she's always taken…some kind of attitude with me."

Yamanami looked at the men around him as they looked at him, almost in shock. Feeling as if he had to prove his point more to make them understand how he really felt, he continued.

"I don't know why, we've never really gotten into any kind of fight or anything along those lines but we simply just don't get along."

Kondo sighed. "Please don't tell me that it's only going to be Souji-kun and I tonight at sake."

"I'll stay," Hijikata said, getting the other two men's attention.

"What?" Kondo asked, not believing what he had heard.

"I said that I would stay for sake," Hijikata repeated.

"Thank you Toshi-kun." Kondo bowed as he looked towards Hijikata, causing him to look away, embarrassed almost.

Night seemed to have come faster then the few days before, which meant that Din would be coming over sooner then thought. But while they waited, everyone was doing their own thing, mostly training though. The trio was training, Souji was out back with the pigs, Tatsunosuke was working as usual, and Tetsunosuke was spilling the tea Hijikata had demanded. Things seemed almost normal, until nightfall.

"Ya know…," Shinpachi said, as he looked at the other two men he always hung out with. "I think Din-chan needs an escort."

"Escort?" Heisuke asked as he blinked.

The three of them were in the backyard, sitting down and cooling off after a tough training session. The cool night air was cooling them down quickly as they watched the sunset in front of them, and as Tatsunosuke brushed more leafs into a small pit in order to burn them.

"Yeah," Sanosuke said, picking up were Shinpachi had stopped, "it would be weird if Din-chan just came over without someone to lead her in."

"Who should do it?" Heisuke asked as he began to think it over.

All three of the boys looked over towards Tatsunosuke who, feeling eyes on him, looked back at them nervously. He looked back down quickly and began to move more and more leafs into the pit quicker, and quicker.

"Hey Tatsu-kun," Shinpachi's voice called.

Tatunsouke looked up only to see the trio standing next to him with grins across their faces. He fell back, almost tripping but grabbed the tree behind him for balance.

"What?" he asked nervously.

"Din-chan needs an escort when she comes over for dinner tonight." Sanosuke explained as his grin grew.

"The rest of us are busy right before dinner," Shinpachi said, continuing Sanosuke's sentence. "So we were wondering if you could go pick her up and then bring her back here."

"Yeah you already know where she lives so it should be easy!" Heisuke said happily as he closed his eyes.

"Well…" Tatsunosuke began to think it over. He was the only real person who would be able to escort her in because everyone was busy. The trio was going to train a bit more before dinner, Tetsunosuke was running around for Hijikata, and Souji was off doing his own thing.

"I guess I could do it," Tatsunosuke answered, feeling as if there wasn't anyone else to do it so he had too.

"Great!" the trio said together as they clapped.

"You'd better get going!" Shinpachi said as he ran behind Tatsunosuke and began to push him towards the front gate. "Dinner's going to be ready soon!"

"But we've got a whole hour!" Tatsunosuke protested as he dug his heels into the dirt. "Besides I can't escort her anywhere wearing something like this!"

"Sure ya can!" Sanosuke argued as he too began to push Tatsunosuke. "She won't mind! Now come on! You're going to be late!"

"But I've got an hour!" Tatsunosuke yelled.

"It takes an hour to get there!" Heisuke yelled as he waved Tatsunosuke off. "Bring her back in one piece okay?"

Before Tatsunosuke knew it, he was pushed out of the front gate, even after all of his protests. He looked back to see the three waving back at him with the same grins on all their faces. Tatsunosuke sighed.

"Tell Hijikata-sama where I'm going please," Tatsunosuke asked.

"We will," the three answered.

Tatsunosuke looked away, and down the street he had to go. He took another deep sigh and then began to walk forward, thinking that he was doing the right thing.

I know where I'm going. Tatsunosuke thought as he looked at the street, recognizing it from the day before. This should go smoothly. There's nothing to get in my way!

No matter how much Tatsunosuke denied it, he couldn't change it; he was lost. He had been daydreaming about something that had caught his eye when he was walking around and before he knew it, he had gotten himself lost. He was now looking around for something that looked familiar but he didn't see anything that even looked vaguely familiar.

Damn! I've gone and gotten myself lost dammit! Tatsunosuke thought as he looked around. I should stop and ask someone…

"Tatsu-kun!" A female voice called, causing the red head to turn around only to see Din walking towards him. She bowed down when she walked over closer to him. "Sorry I'm late, getting dressed took a bit longer then usual."

"It's alright I'm not exactly on time either," Tatsunosuke confessed as he scratched the back of his head. It was then that Tatsunosuke noticed that Din had changed her outfit; she was now wearing a light blue kimono which was open at the top a bit showing that she had bandages on around her chest.

"We should get going then." Din stuck her arm through Tatsunosuke's right arm and wrapped it around his arm tightly.

"What are you doing?" Tatsunosuke asked as a blush came over his face.

"You're my escort," Din said as she looked up at Tatsunosuke, surprised at his reaction to her action. "It would look awkward if I walked in with you next to me without my arm in yours."

"Y-Yeah…," Tatsunosuke's blush disappeared as he came back to reason.

"Come on." Din tugged on Tatsunosuke, telling him to follow. "We're going to be late."

R&R please!