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

Almost caught up. ::sigh:: Anways, thanks for the reviews! I love reading them!

Enjoy!

Night had fallen, and Din was serving dinner to everyone, Hijikata being last as always because she ate with him. She came into his room but only placed down one tray.

"You're not eating?" Hijikata asked, looking up towards her.

"I'm going out," she answered. "Sorry that you have to eat alone tonight, my plans were very last minute."

"I was going to talk to you about Yamanami-kun," Hijikata hissed, hating the fact that his plans were now ruined.

Din leaned against the wall. "He hasn't come back from Shimabara yet so I haven't talked to him yet. I promise when I get back I'll talk to him and then talk to you."

"Promise?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "Now if you don't mind I'd better get going."

Din walked away from the room, leaving the door open to allow the cool air to come into the air. Hijikata sighed, not liking the fact that he had to eat alone for the first time since Din had come to the Shinsengumi but he thought of it as a small break from everyone. Getting over it quickly, he began eating.

Placing a small hop in her step, Din walked down to the docks, and down to the place where her and Tatsunosuke had begun talking again and where they had shared their small kiss. There she saw Ryoma sitting down with a basket next to him. He heard her, turned around and grinned.

"I knew you'd be early," he said, patting the spot next to him. "Ya always are."

"My mother taught me right," she answered back as she walked over towards him and sat beside him. "I've missed you. I came down here everyday to wait for you."

"Even after I told you I wouldn't be back?" he asked blinking.

She blushed a bit and looked him in the eyes. "Yeah."

He smiled and reached his right hand up to her shoulders and pulled her over. Gently he moved his face towards hers and kissed her. Her eyes widened at first but then relaxed as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

After a few moments he pulled away from her and petted her right cheek, causing her to blush more.

"I've been waitin' ten months to do that," he whispered.

Suddenly the noise of someone walking by caught their attention. They looked around until they spotted a bridge not too far away. They got up quickly, Ryoma grabbing the basket and then ran underneath the bridge. They moved underneath it until they were both covered by the darkness, pressed up against one another, trying to completely be covered by the shade. The walking moved above them and slowly faded away.

"Damn," Din whispered. "I forgot about you being in public."

"And I forgot how much fun you were to hide with," Ryoma said with a grin.

Wanting to know what he meant, she looked down and saw that the side of Ryoma's face was shoved into her chest. She rolled her eyes and moved so that she was sitting with her back against the bridge and him next to her.

"So," Din moved around, "what's in the basket?"

Ryoma brought the basket over to him and opened it. "Sake and bread."

She twitched. "That's it?"

"I haven't been able to get to my money source." He moved the sake towards her. "But it was the first meal you and I shared back when we first met."

"Yeah." She blushed once more. "That's right."

Two drinking hours later, Din and Ryoma were still underneath the bridge where Ryoma's laughing could be heard echoing from. He was now lying down in Din's lap, looking up at her as she told him everything that had been happening to her in his leave.

"So you've been hangin' out with Ryuunosuke-sama's kids?" he asked, laughing. "Which one?"

"Dragon boy," she answered with a sigh. "There's something about him that just keeps me comin' back to him. I don't know, we're really close now."

Ryoma laughed once more. "It's not 'cause you were in love with Ryuunosuke-sama is it?"

Din blushed heavily. "No. That's not the reason I talk to Tatsu-kun."

"So you finally admit that you were in love with him?"

"No!" She shook her head back and forth. "He was married. I only liked him because he was such a big help to me, especially after leaving Hijikata. He was just so nice to me and always took care of me whenever I needed help" She leaned back. "Maybe I was falling for him because he was trying to change the world."

"Kinda like me," Ryoma added in.

"Yeah." She sighed once more. "He was handsome too."

"Like me."

"Anyway, Tatsu-kun is totally different. He's really nice to talk to and has always helped me with something and—"

Ryoma reached up and kissed her once more, then pulled away; Din to puffed up her cheeks.

"What was that for?" she hissed.

"To make sure he doesn't take you away from me. I had a hard time getting you away from Ryuunosuke-sama."

Din looked away blushing as he laid back down in her lap and closed his eyes. A cooling breeze came over them, and Ryoma sighed from the feeling.

"Do you still have the ring I gave you?" he asked.

She reached into her kimono, grabbed a chain that hung around her neck and pulled it out to show him the sliver ring trapped in it.

"I can't get rid of it," she answered.

"I want you to keep it for awhile longer." He pushed it back towards her. "I might want to ask you to marry me again."

Din place it back into her kimono. "About that…I'm so sorry for what I did. I had no right to reject you that night. I had no right to be so selfish about something that shouldn't have been a problem."

"Don't worry about it Cowgirl!" Ryoma laughed once more. "You would have been miserable with me and I can't stand to see you upset! You know I love you more then the world itself! I'll always be waitin' for you."

"Ryoma…," Din whimpered.

Water began to gather underneath her eyes as his words hit her and sank into her and memories of what had happened in the ten months Ryoma had been gone flashed through her mind. He was so different then the only other person she had been with, and that was what had caused her to fall in love with him so quickly. As a tear began to fall down her face, he brought his hand up and cupped her face.

"Don't cry because of me," he whispered. "I want you to smile."

Why? Why are you so different from everyone else? Din thought as she smiled.

Why are you always the one I run to and never cry about?

"So," he moved closer towards her stomach, "have you been with anyone else while I've been gone?"

"Of course not! Well I did kiss someone but…have you?"

Ryoma looked around. "No…"

"Ryo!"

"I'm kiddin'!" He moved his right hand back and forth. "I told you I was saving my second virginity for you."

"You told me that you would give me your second virginity and I never promised you anything else. I guess we'll both start over." Din smiled.

His second virginity, he called it, came to be because when he was younger he gave his virginity to a whore out of curiosity and desire. He hated himself after it because he had always told himself that he would give it to the women he loved so he invited his "second virginity" when he met Din.

Ryoma moved up to Din's face. "I've missed you. I thought about you nonstop once I left." He kissed her. "That's why I asked you to marry me right before I left."

"I know." She pressed her face against his. "I love you too Ryo."

"Promise me you'll tell me when you're falling in love with someone else."

I'm sorry. She thought, kissing Ryoma.

"Promise me you'll tell me before you leave."

I can't keep any more promises.

"Promise me you'll never leave."

I'm sorry Hijikata.

Hijikata woke up to Din shaking him and calling his name over and over again. He slowly opened his eyes, and sat up.

"What?" he asked tiredly.

"I talked to Yamanami-san," she sighed, "he's just stressed out about things. I think he wants to talk to you like nothing has happened. Everything will be fine with him Hijikata so relax."

"Thank you." Hijikata pulled his hair back into his normal ponytail. "What time did you get back last night?"

"I just got back two hours ago." She laughed.

Hijikata sighed. "Who were you with?"

Din blushed. "An old boyfriend….my ex-fiancée to be exact."

He twitched. "So he's back in town?"

"Yeah." Her blush deepened.

"Are you going to leave now or later?" he hissed.

"What?"

"You said that you were going to leave once he came back, so hurry up and tell me what you're going to do." Hijikata looked away.

Din closed her eyes and stood up. She quickly walked over towards the back door and walked out of it without saying another word to him. He waited a few moments before he looked towards the door and sighed.

I guess she's leaving now. He thought.

While walking out, Din bumped into Yamanami. He opened his mouth to apologize for bumping into her but stopped when he saw how busy her mind was. Thinking that she needed someone to talk to, he took in into the backyard, near the koi fishpond and sat down with her.

"What's wrong?" Yamanami asked. "Did Hijikata say something to you again?"

"There's so much going through my head right now." She leaned her head against the tree behind her. "I don't know what to think anymore. I figured that I should talk to you because I know that you'll be honest with me."

"Uh…thank you." Yamanami laughed a bit.

"My ex-fiancée came back the other day, I'll call him Shi, and we spent the night together talking about things. He told me he loved me and I told him that I loved him back but the minute I come back here I feel so attached to Hijikata." Din's hands gripped her kimono. "I don't know what it is that keeps dragging me back to him but every time I'm around Hijikata I feel like I'm cheating on R—Shi. And I don't want to leave yet."

"Yet?"

"I have to go on a mission with Shi sooner or later and that's when I'm going to leave," Din explained. "Hijikata already knows about it but he doesn't want me to leave. I don't know what to do, or what to think anymore."

"What's Shi like?" Yamanami asked, trying to get more of the story.

"Well we got together and started dating when I turned twenty eight, about two almost three years when he asked me to marry him. I rejected him and he left to go on a mission and left four months before I came to live here. He's great," she lowered her head, "he's so different from Hijikata, the only other man I've been with. He's said things to me that no one has ever said to me, he can finish my sentences, and it's almost like he can read my mind. Is that love Yamanami-kun?"

"Hinto-san, you know what love is." Yamanami moved closer to her.

"I gave up," Din's eyes began to water, "so much to be with Hijikata. We both worked so hard to see each other when we were younger and we went through so much but now everything is gone. I don't know, I don't want to leave Hijikata again but…"

She's still so attached to Hijikata. Yamanami blinked as he watched her. Even though there's someone out in the world who promises her everything she wants to be with Hijikata-kun.

Tears fell onto the floor as Din began to cry. "I want to be with Hijikata. I don't know if it's my heart or what but I want to be with him just like we used to be but something inside of me is telling me to be with Shi as well."

"Maybe you want to be with Hijikata because you were so happy back when you were together," Yamanami said, looking up towards the sky. "Perhaps it would be better for you to leave with Shi and do whatever you want with him and if things don't work out, Hijikata-kun will always be waiting for you."

"I can't keep making people wait." Din sniffled. "It's not fair to play around with people like that."

"You waited for Hijikata."

Din brought her knees up to her chest and tucked them in, wrapping her arms around them tightly so they wouldn't stretch outwards.

"Why does Hijikata have to be so stubborn? He knows that I love him and want to be with him but…we always go through the same issues," Din whimpered.

"Shi sounds like he would be healthier for you." Yamanami sighed.

"I know but I keep falling for Hijikata." Din shook her head back and forth. "Sometimes I think fate wants us to be together because it brought me back to him but…this is torture."

"Hinto-san…Hijikata doesn't want you to get hurt by being with him and he's never going to go against his beliefs." Yamanami shook his head back and forth. "It would be best for you to go with Shi…or Tatsu-kun."

Din blinked. "Tatsu-kun…"

"It's not 'cause you were in love with Ryuunosuke-sama is it?"

"I-I don't know anymore." She placed her head on her knees. "Hijikata does things that make me think that he does want to get back together but Tatsu-kun…he's been so sweet to me but he looks too much like someone I used to like."

"You wouldn't be with him because he looks like someone else?" Yamanami asked in surprise. "He can't help that Hinto-san."

"It's just that I would be afraid that, that would be the reason for me liking him," Din mumbled loud enough to hear. "He looks exactly like him."

"Looks and personality are two different things."

Din's eyes widened, then relaxed. "You're right Yamanami-kun. Thanks a lot for listening to me. I never thought I'd be talking to you like this."

"Me either." Yamanami laughed. "I think everything will work out for you Hinto-san, Hijikata is just," he sighed, "I think he may be as confused as you are."

Din looked back up towards him and smiled. "I owe you."

"It's not a big deal." Yamanami smiled.

Later on in the day when the night had fallen, and everyone had gone to bed, Tatsunosuke felt someone tugging on him. Thinking that Tetsunosuke wanted or need something, he woke up quickly only to see that it was Din.

"Tatsu-kun," she whispered.

"Wha?" he asked, blinking.

"I have to show you something." She tugged on him once more. "You need to come to my room."

"Sure."

Tatsunosuke followed Din back to her room where she lit her lantern, and moved a wooden box towards it.

"I placed this with my parents for storage," Din said as she got settled. "They died a few weeks ago so my other relatives sent this back to me. There's something in from your father I want you to read."

"My father?" Tatsunosuke blinked.

"It's old." Din opened the small box. "Maybe five years old or so."

She fully opened the box and set the lid down onto the floor, allowing the dark red head to look into the box. Papers, small rings, and the only letter in an envelope that sat on top of everything else.

"I just read the letter for the first time a few minutes ago." She lifted the letter up slowly. She opened the flap, pulled out the paper, and handed it to Tatsunosuke.

He unfolded the paper to see that it was fragile at the creases because of its long time being folded. Finally getting it open, he saw his father's handwriting at the top of the paper.

Dear Din-chan,

For some reason I don't think I'm going to be on this earth any longer. I hope I've helped you with your sister, and I can only pray that Ryoma-kun will help you keep up your search for her in the Choshu.

I don't know how old Tatsunosuke will be when I pass away but if he's too young to care for himself and Tetsunosuke, I want you to please care for them. I know I can trust you, and that you'll do everything in your power to keep them safe. Please don't allow them to go to an orphanage and risk becoming separated. Just keep them until Tatsunosuke is old enough but please watch over them. If Tatsunosuke is old enough please find him one day and befriend him.

There's nothing more to say. I've made my request to you and I trust that everything will work out the way it's supposed to. I'm just asking for you to watch over my boys. Thank you Din-chan.

Ryuunosuke Ichimura

Tatsunosuke read the letter over and over again just to picture his father writing the letter, and just to see the familiar way he wrote out everything. It was a bit strange but he felt another weird feeling when he reread that his father wanted Din to take care of them.

"How old were you when he wrote this?" he asked, clearing his voice to stop him from choke and start crying.

"Twenty-six," Din answered. "It was five years ago."

"I was seventeen." Tatsunosuke looked away. "He thought he was going to die so early on. He didn't die until three years later."

"I just thought it was a bit strange." Din sighed. "Your father wanted us to meet up and we did."

Tatsunosuke raised his right hand away from the letter and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He couldn't help it, just being reminded of his father and how he had set up their future in case he died early. He missed him.

"Tatsu-kun," Din said gently.

She moved over towards him as he looked up from the letter, and towards the ceiling. Be careful, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and he placed the letter down on the floor as he wrapped his arms around her abdomen. He rested his head on her right shoulder and began to cry; trying to be quiet.

Not wanting to wake someone up, Din moved back and covered the lantern with the top of the box, and caused it to go out. She moved back against Tatsunosuke and held him tightly.

"I thought I was over this," he whimpered.

"You never get over it," she whispered. "You just have to live, and slowly learn to live without them. You never forget them, and you never get over them dying. It's okay to cry about it."

"I miss him."

"I miss him too."

Tatsunosuke held her tightly as he cried until it became late and he fell asleep with her, with his arms still around her. Din moved him to lie down beside her and placed out another futon for him. When she laid down, she closed her eyes and before she could think about anything, she too fell asleep.

R&R please!