I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Damn I need to keep updating. I have twenty five chapters waiting on this damn computer but stupid AOL is being a bitch. Anyways, enjoy and review please! OOOO-Shows a flashback

The Choshu ran around the Ikeda-ya, and tried to attack the Shinsengumi members but they were forced back in blood. Yoshida was pushed out of the backdoor by his soldiers and stood in the backyard of the Ikeda-ya, listening to those fellow members die. He heard someone call out his name, then a gargling noise he knew too well.

They were all in there, dying for him. They were giving themselves up for him, just as Setsuna, the only woman he had ever been close to, had so many years before. Was he really worth all of this trouble? He had to be, if people were giving themselves up for him, he had to make it through this.

"Yoshida-sama!!"

Yoshida turned around to see Suzu running over towards him. He turned his nose up the young boy and looked back towards the Ikeda-ya.

"What are you doing here Suzu-kun?" he asked with a cold tone.

"I came to fight!" Suzu argued. "I wanna help you! I wanna fight by your side!"

"Suzu-kun."

"Please!!" Suzu begged. "I don't wanna be alone anymore! Let me help you fight this, and bring down the Shinsengumi!!"

Yoshida gave a slight grin. "If you want to help, Suzu-kun, then go back to base and get reinforcements. Come back here quickly and then you can help us fight. Hurry Suzu-kun, I'll be here waiting for you to return."

Suzu's eyes brightened. "Yes Yoshida-sama!"

"Go!!"

Suzu backed away and ran out into the streets, heading towards the Choshu base. He ran as fast as he could, hoping that he would get there in time to fight by his master just like he thought it should be.

Yoshida began to walk down an Ikeda-ya, listening and watching his fellow comrades being killed by the Shinsengumi members, Kondo, and Shinpachi. He came closer and closer when suddenly Heisuke came out of the corner and Yoshida attacked.

"Heisuke!" Shinpachi screamed.

Yoshida moved his spear upwards, and cut Heisuke's forehead, causing him to fall on the floor while Shinpachi screamed.

Susumu kicked down the female ninja, knocking her down onto the floor. She hissed and looked back up at him as he grabbed a large gun and pointed it upwards. Her eyes widened as she wondered what he was going to do.

"This is over," he said coldly.

Susumu pulled the trigger on the gun, firing a bright, white flare into the air. The sky lit up, and told Hijikata's group where everyone else was, and that Yoshida was in the area where he was.

The light also lead Tetsunosuke down the street and over to the Ikeda-ya. His heart was pounding away in his chest, and he was grabbing his uniform trying to see if what was happening was real. He grabbed his sword and held tight to it, hoping that it would save him if something happened.

Back in the Ikeda-ya, Souji managed to stab Yoshida, and got him to fall down onto the ground, cursing in pain. Wanting to finish everything once and for all, Souji raised his sword upwards and got ready to force it down with all of his strength.

"Okita-san!"

Souji glanced over to his right and saw Tetsunosuke standing in the doorway. Yoshida noticed the smaller boy now, and wanting to get over to him, he kicked Souji out of the way and crawled over towards him.

Tetsunosuke's legs moved before his mind could even tell them to. He began to run, run like he had in the burning shack but suddenly, he asked himself why he was running. He felt the uniform he had on move whenever he moved his legs, reminding him that he had it on and thus making him remember that he was a part of the Shinsengumi. Tetsunosuke stopped running.

Yoshida had gotten back onto his feet and began running after Tetsunosuke but Souji interfered and stabbed Yoshida once more. They began to clash weapons over and over again but Souji, all of a sudden, pulled away and began to cough. He coughed over and over again into his hand and as he pulled it away he saw blood in his palm.

I'm coughing up blood. He thought.

Distracted now, Souji began coughing and soon Yoshida took advantage of the situation and knocked Souji onto the floor where his coughing fit grew. Tetsunosuke was now in a closet, watching and whimpering as memories came back to him once more. Yoshida ignored the noises and stepped onto Souji's armor and pushed down with his entire body weight.

Souji screamed as his armor broke and pressed into his skin. Tetsunosuke watched and heard Souji's armor breaking and thought it might also be the noise of Souji's rib cage breaking. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to picture something else but a strange feeling came over him, the feeling of wanting to protect.

I have to protect Okita-san! Tetsunosuke told himself. If I can't fight, then I'll just have to protect the people I love! The people who are getting hurt! I don't want to be strong enough to kill; I want to be strong enough to protect the ones I love!

Figuring his emotions out, Tetsunosuke gathered his courage and thrusted his sword out of the closet, and hit Yoshida in the leg.

"Damn!" Yoshida hissed, taking his leg off of Souji's chest.

"Did you see that flare?" Sanosuke asked Hijikata. "Hijikata-sama, it came from near the Ikeda-ya inn!"

"Let's move out! As fast as we can!" Hijikata ordered as he walked out in front of the troop he was leading.

"You are my happiness."

Damn. Hijikata thought as he led the group. Why the hell is that bothering me so much right now?

Din walked into Yamanami's room with a tray full of food that Tatsunosuke had promised to bring in. She set the tray down by Yamanami's bedside and began setting it up while Yamanami looked away from her and out of his backdoor. Once everything was set out, Din stood and walked over to the corner of the room where she began to pick up dirty laundry.

"Are you scared?" Yamanami asked, breaking the silence.

"About?" she answered without facing him.

"Hijikata?"

"I'm worried about everyone." She bent down and began collecting the laundry.

"Why?"

"Because I care about all of them and I don't want to lose them," she said simply.

He smiled. "You're very selfish."

She twitched. "What makes you say that?"

"I've known you for a while now Hinto-san…and having you back now just tells me how selfish you really are."

She turned around to him and placed her hands on her hips. "How can you say something like that with a smile on your face? After you insulted me just the other—"

"You're cold but such a warm hearted person underneath it. You're selfish, and don't care if you lie to someone," Yamanami said as he looked up towards Din, his smile still there. "You see something one way, and not any other way. You remind me of Hijikata."

She blinked. "That's supposed to be a compliment?"

He nodded. "And I think that's why we don't get along."

Din rolled her eyes. "I think that fever is getting to you. I'll come back and check on you in a few hours."

With that Din walked out of the room with her arms covered in laundry she was planning to do in order to distract herself. Yamanami kept his smile on his face, and returned his vision to the backyard.

Sometimes too much like him. He thought.

Tetsunosuke's fight with Yoshida continued, leading the both of them outside, in the backyard. Shinpachi, Heisuke, and Kondo watched as the small red head proved himself with every move he finished, and every time he dodged a deadly attack. Souji soon joined the group of watchers, dragging himself over to the open doors to watch.

"Tetsu-kun watch it!!" Shinpachi yelled when he spotted a dangerous open area for Tetsunosuke.

Tetsunosuke dodged Yoshida's attack and brought his sword up, cutting Yoshida's arm off from his body. He yelled, and staggered backwards and fell down from the pain and shock of everything.

"Way to go puppy-kun!!" Heisuke called out. "Finish him off!!"

Tetsunosuke moved over towards Yoshida's head and suddenly stopped moving all together.

"Why?" Tetsunosuke asked. "Why did you kill my family that night two years ago?"

"What?" Yoshida hissed.

"What the hell were you thinking!? You killed my family!!"

"What are you talking about?"

Tetsunosuke stopped. This man, it wasn't him. This wasn't the man who took the life of his mother and father. But if this weren't him, why would Tetsunosuke kill him? He had nothing against him now, he wasn't hurting anyone he loved at the moment and he hadn't hurt him before.

"TETSU-KUN!" Shinpachi yelled.

Yoshida found a piece of metal on the floor and gripped it between his teeth. He moved towards Tetsunosuke to finish him off while he was stunned but Souji swept in and cut off Yoshida's head, ending everything.

"Okita-san," Tetsunosuke whimpered.

He couldn't hold anything back anymore, he just couldn't. Tears fell from his eyes as he fell to his knees from everything he had just seen. He had been in his first real fight and could have easily died. Everything hit him at once, and his tears cascaded down his face before he could stop them.

"Everything's okay Tetsu-kun," Souji said gently. "Everything's over now."

Everything had recovered now. The rest of the Shinsengumi had come to the Ikeda-ya, and had helped with the wounded victims. Everyone was getting ready to go back to headquarters when Tetsunosuke ran back into the backyard to grab his swords.

Suzu walked in during that moment and found Yoshida dead. He looked on in horror and saw Tetsunosuke run away as if nothing had happened.

No. Suzu thought. You said we would meet up again, you can't be dead.

Suzu walked towards his master's head and fell to his knees. He picked up his head and looked at it.

"Yoshida-sama," he whispered.

First Setsuna-chan, and now Yoshida-sama. He thought as he began to cry. No it can't be possible.

He wrapped his master's head in a white cloth and placed it underneath his arm. He walked out of the backyard but didn't know where to go. The Choshu base didn't care what happened to him, and he didn't have any family or friends, so he had nowhere to go but he didn't care. He walked down the street and kept going. Just walking.

The next day had arrived and with it, the Gion Festival which most of the Shinsengumi members wanted to visit. Wanting to discuss going, the trio was in Souji's room where Hijikata was, making sure Souji was feeling better after what happened at the Ikeda-ya. Tetsunosuke, being Hijikata's page was also there, sitting beside Susumu who was just there because he wanted to be.

"There's gonna be fireworks!" Sanosuke said happily. "It's going to be great this year!"

"Hey you know what?" Heisuke interjected. "If we could watch them from on top of the roof just like we used to."

"That would look awesome!" Shinpachi said.

"What do you think?" Souji asked, turning to Hijikata.

"No, no one is to go on the roof tonight," he answered, crossing his arms. "Everyone needs to be ready in case the Choshu attack our base for what we did."

"Can we go to the festival?" Shinpachi and Sanosuke asked together.

"Just be somewhere where we can reach you." Hijikata sighed. "Now get out, Souji-kun needs to get some rest."

The trio left without protest, leaving only the four behind. Hijikata stood up and moved only to see Tetsunosuke moving out of the corner of his eye.

"What?" he asked.

"Do you…do you want some tea!?" Tetsunosuke asked happily. "Cause you know I can get up and get you some!"

"No, your tea tastes like crap, I only drink it when I have too," Hijikata answered, breaking the red head's sprit. "What do you want to make me bloated? Quit asking me every chance you get."

Susumu sighed and grabbed Tetsunosuke. "We'll be excusing ourselves."

He pulled Tetsunosuke up and walked out of the room, now leaving only two behind until Din walked into the room with two cups of tea on a tray. She walked into the room, set the tray down and got back up to leave.

"Din-chan!" Souji looked up towards her. "Why don't you stay with us for awhile? I haven't been able to talk to you for a while."

"I'm sorry," she said, turning back around. "I have a lot of chores to do right now Souji-kun and I promised someone something but I'll make sure to talk to you tonight before bed alright?"

"Sure." He blinked. "Is there something wrong Din-chan? You're in a hurry to get out of here it seems."

"No." She blushed and moved her hands up in protest. "It's nothing Souji-kun! I'll talk to you tonight."

Din turned back around and walked out with a slight jump in her step Souji could hear as she walked down the wooden planks. Souji blinked, not getting anything and turned back around to Hijikata to see him looking away with the hints of a fading blush on his face.

"Why are you blushing!?" Souji asked suddenly. Then it hit him and he narrowed his eyes to prove it to the other man. "Din-chan didn't come to bed last night…were you two keeping each other company?"

"It wasn't like that," Hijikata hissed.

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Hijikata walked into his room from coming from the Ikeda-ya and found Din sleeping in the futon she had been sleeping in when she was ill. Blinking, he walked over to her and moved the covers to cover her completely. He looked at her for a moment, and then sat back against the nearest wall.

Din's eyes moved a bit from feeling the movement of Hijikata. Her eyes fluttered open, and then looked over towards him.

"Hijikata?" she asked with a tired tone. "Hijikata!"

She jumped out of the bed, stumbled over to him and hugged him tightly. He sat there for a second, and then took back the thought of hugging her back.

"I was waiting for you all night," Din said in a usual happy tone. "I'm sorry I fell asleep waiting."

Hijikata pushed Din away and looked at her questioning eyes. Din then looked away first, and her hands gripped within themselves.

"Hijikata," she began, "this is all too weird. I don't know what I want from you. I only know that I want to at least be able to talk to you. I want to talk to you without hate or regret getting in the way."

Hijikata sighed. "That would be nice but—"

"But?"

"There's too much risk involved."

"Too much risk?" Din repeated. "What are you talking about?"

Hijikata looked away from her. "I can't do what I did before."

Din looked away also and released her fists. He didn't want to fall for her again and risk everything. This was just like it had been before, only now Hijikata had more to risk. The Shinsengumi had grown, and thus gained more enemies, leaving anyone Hijikata cared for that didn't know how to use a sword at risk.

"So does that mean…," Din whispered as she thought out loud. "That you still…"

"You don't have to say it." Hijikata blushed a bit.

Din's eyes watered. "H-Hijikata."

She fell forward back into his chest and began to cry slightly. Hijikata just sat there and listened as his arm began to reach around her, but then stopped, knowing that it could never be like that again, they were just strangers living under the same house, they were just friends that had never been in love. Just strangers.

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"That's it," Hijikata finished, letting go of a puff of smoke at the same time. "Nothing too outrageous or anything like that."

"Oh." Souji looked away. "I was just thinking…"

"About what?"

"Well," Souji crossed his arms, "I had no idea that you and Din-chan had slept together when you were younger and I was hoping that maybe if you did, you would get back together."

"Souji-kun," his pipe almost fell out of his mouth, "why do you want us back together?"

"You were both so happy back then." Souji looked outside. "The way Din-chan smiled when she was around you, and the way you talked to her and the way you acted…you seemed so happy together."

"Souji-kun." Hijikata sighed. "That was a long time ago."

"But—"

"I don't want you to tell anyone what I just told you," Hijikata interrupted. "This is to stay between you, Din, and I."

Souji sighed. "Yes Hijikata-sama."

"Hey Tatsu-kun!!"

Tatsunosuke looked up from his work and saw the trio standing next to him, all with grins crossing their faces. Shinpachi bent over first, and moved closer towards Tatsunosuke.

"The Gion Festival is today, why don't you ask Din-chan to go?" Shinpachi giggled.

Tatsunosuke blushed. "To tell the truth I already have."

"What!?" the three yelled together.

"I asked her at breakfast this morning." Tatsunosuke closed a book he had been working on. "She and I are leaving in a few minutes."

"Tatsu-kun," Din said, popping out from around a door. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes." Tatsunosuke stood up and straightened out his kimono.

"Tatsu-san," Susumu walked into the room, "Tetsu-kun wants you to come with us to the festival."

"He does?" Tatsunosuke twitched.

"Come on!" Tetsunosuke yelled. "Come on Tatsu-nii!"

"Is it alright if they come?" Tatsunosuke asked Din, scratching the back of his head.

"Sure." She shrugged. "Come on, let's go."

"Don't let the small ones stop you!!" Heisuke whispered as Tatsunosuke walked by him. "Go somewhere private or something!"

Tatsunosuke ignored them and walked over towards Din, Susumu, and Tetsunosuke. They talked for a moment, then began to walk out of the Shinsengumi, leaving the trio behind to talk amongst themselves.

"Do you really think he likes her?" Heisuke asked, watching Tatsunosuke and Din walk away.

"I think the question is whether she likes him." Shinpachi sighed.

"Why?" Sanosuke asked, moving down to the red head's level. "Do you know something we don't know about Din-chan?"

"She's just been with Hijikata-sama a lot," Shinpachi answered. "That one time she was with him all night long and barely came out. Not only that but when she left for that while, Hijikata-sama told us to forget it."

"Hum." Sanosuke crossed his arms. "I'm sure she'll tell us if we ask."

"You mean she'll tell you," Shinpachi said, glaring up towards the taller man.

"Yeah." Heisuke added. "You and her have been keeping a few secrets from us."

Sanosuke sighed and walked away from the group; the leftovers two to looked at him in wonder.

"If you really want to know, I'll tell you." Sanosuke sighed once more.

"Really?!" Shinpachi and Heisuke asked together as one.

"Yeah," Sanosuke sat down on the wooden planks, "it was twelve years ago, when I met Setsuna-chan, and that's what everything's about. Her."

R&R please!