I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din, Seimura, and Setsuna.
Stupid document thing finally let me update! I was tryin' all day yesterday! Anyways, thanks for the sweet reviews, it hard to believe that on my other computer this thing has almost reached forty chapters. Yes I thought it too, how much longer can this go on? But with what's happenin' in the 4th and 5th mangas, I have a lot to go on. Let's start this shall we?
Enjoy!
Din was long gone and because he was bored, Yamanami had gone to Shimbara to see Akesato. They were sitting around and Akesato was busy looking at a sword Yamanami had brought in the other day.
"Yamanami-kun," she began as she held up the sword, "this sword…"
"Oh that?" Yamanami turned back to her. "Yeah it's a shame, but I think I've changed my mind. Tomorrow I'm going back to the one I used to use. I remembered a few good things in the past few days, and I feel like I can keep trying my best."
"That's good." Akesato smiled.
Yamanami walked home on his own and found a kitten sitting outside of Hijikata's room. He petted the kitten, and then walked over to the door when he heard what sounded like Hijikata and Kondo.
"He threw it out!" a voice like Hijikata said.
"Haha, because it tastes terrible!" Kondo responded.
"Damn what a pain," Hijikata said as Yamanami reached for the bedroom door.
"Oh you mean Sannan?" Kondo asked, making Yamanami stop what he was doing.
"We need to put an end to him soon."
"I think you belong in the Shinsengumi though."
Yamanami turned away from the door and walked away from the hallway without thinking or saying another thing. Once Yamanami was out of the hallway, the kitten like person stepped out from the room, jiggling it's bell.
"You're leaving already?" Akesato asked as she let a puff of smoke go.
"Sorry." Yamanami shook his head. "I just remembered something I had to do."
"Jeez, I hate that Shinsengumi."
She looked at the way he was standing near the window with his eyes and mind somewhere else.
"Yamanami-kun, is something wrong?" she asked, taking her pipe out of her mouth.
"No." Yamanami smiled. "Everything's fine."
That was the last night Yamanami spent at Shimabara. That was the night that Yamanami disappeared, and left everything behind.
"We don't know for sure that he's run away!!!" Heisuke screamed towards Sanosuke.
"Ow! I was just saying what if's that's all!" Sanosuke watched as Heisuke let go of his shirt.
"Still, just don't say things like that!" Heisuke shook his head.
"It's been three days," Shinpachi said in a low tone.
"Kondo-sama." Heisuke looked towards the older man. "I don't think we need to search for him. He's probably just wandering around somewhere; I'm sure Sannan with show up today or tomorrow."
"If not, we might've just gone out for no real reason," Saitou said, making Heisuke turn around to him. "Are you sure about that? Can you really say that he left for no reason?"
Everyone froze, and then looked over towards Hijikata who was sitting and looking out towards his backdoor while his pipe emitted smoke from his stance. He finally took a deep breath in and spoke.
"We don't know if he's run away or if he's dead, but we have to find him. Gather our spies. Descend on the Capital and get all the information you can," he told Susumu who was standing in front of him.
"Yes sir." Susumu bowed, and then jumped away to do his duty.
Kondo raised his right hand to his face and covered his mouth. "For now, everyone all we can do…is trust him."
Din. Hijikata thought. Will you leave like this?
Din was standing in front of the construction where the house where she and Ryoma would live to see that it was finally finished. She blinked as she stood in front of it, in amazement that was finally finished.
It was a small wooden house that stood with the ocean behind it, and boats leaving and coming. The sun was setting behind it, making it look as if it were sitting on the ocean instead of the land and making Din fall more and more in love with it.
He got it done. Din thought with a smile. We have somewhere to live…
"Hey!" Ryoma said as he came out of the house. "Come inside!"
Din laughed as she ran into the house and into the room that would be their bedroom. She looked around with a grin, and building excitement the more and more she took in the new sight.
"Din, there's something I wanna ask you," Ryoma said as he came into the room.
"What?" Din blinked.
"Well ya know," Ryoma couched as he walked over to her, "since we're gonna be living together and all of that, I was wonderin'…"
"What?" Din asked again as she walked over to him and met him in the middle of the room.
Ryoma took in a deep breath. "Will you marry me?"
Din blinked and paused. "What?"
"Will you marry me?" Ryoma asked once more, only this time with more confidence. He reached into his kimono and pulled out a chain with a ring on it. "I want you to marry me."
"Ryoma…"
Din felt the happiness she had felt when she saw the house enter her once more. Before she could think or say anything else, she jumped forward and hugged Ryoma tightly. He grinned and hugged her back, moving his face next to hers.
"Is that a yes?" he whispered.
"Yes!" she cheered. "I'll marry you!"
"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."
This is the right step I know it. Din thought. This is my second chance and I'm not going to lose it. I'm going to take it before it's too late. Ryoma…
Souji was now out on his horse, looking for Yamanami, just as he had promised Hijikata and Kondo. He spotted a horse sitting on the riverbank, so he galloped over there to see Yamanami getting a drink of water while Souji halted his horse.
"Yamanami-sama," Souji said seriously.
"They sent you to find me," Yamanami said with a smile. "Oh I see they know I can't draw my sword against you. Even if I could, I wouldn't stand a chance."
"It wasn't an order," Souji answered back. "I came on my own, no matter how far you try to run or how big a crowd you try to hide in, I will find you. That's why I came."
Yamanami looked back at Souji, and his grin grew. "Okay. I'm sorry for causing so much trouble. Shall we go? I'm prepared to accept my punishment."
Souji turned away from him. "Very well. Let's go back then, you still have something to do for the Shinsengumi."
The older man looked back. "Okita-kun…"
"No matter what excuse you come up with I will no accept it," Souji said sternly. "No matter how cold Hijikata-sama acts on the surface he needs you. You know that right? And you must know that everyone likes you. This won't end with you just cutting your stomach!" Souji closed his eyes. "I don't care what it takes; we'll come up with something to convince everyone…something…anything!!! Just ask! They might let you live!"
"Okita-kun," Yamanami said gently as he opened his eyes. "That's enough, thank you. And I'm sorry."
Souji moved down from his horse and bent down to hug Yamanami tightly. The older man smiled and squeezed the boy he had known for so long.
"Why?" Souji whimpered. "Why did you desert us?"
"Good question," Yamanami whispered back. "I just kind of…wanted to get out."
Yamanami was brought in front of everyone in the Shinsengumi and then brought back into the backyard where he was isolated from the rest of the members but Hijikata, Kondo, and Souji.
"Why?" Kondo asked, moving his hand to his head. "Why did you do it Sannan? Do you want to desert us? Well?"
"The root lies with yourself and the vice-commander. You should ask yourselves," Yamanami said, finally confessing what was wrong.
"What?" Kondo asked in shock. "What is that supposed to mean Sannan!?"
"Are you trying to say that we ran you out?" Hijikata accused as he stood up.
"Ran me out," Yamanami repeated. "Well you'd kill anyone who gets in your way so that that is the case."
"Are you serious?" Hijikata looked at Yamanami, the look on his face telling him how wrong he was. "You really think…that you'd be in our way?"
"You fool." Kondo hung his head and twisted his facial features in pain.
He had been wrong. Yamanami's eyes widened as he remembered hearing them talk about him and wondered if he had heard everything right. His heart began pounding away in his chest as he discovered that he must have been wrong but then another reality set in. One he couldn't escape.
"By the way," Yamanami began, "I don't see Ito-san or the other executives. Why aren't they here?"
"We've kept this incident a secret," Kondo explained. "The seven of us earlier members, Saitou-kun, Tetsu-kun, and the spies are the only other ones that know."
Yamanami smiled and bowed. "Please tell everyone as soon as possible. Tell them that vice-commander Keisuke Yamanami is guilty of deserting the Shinsengumi and as punishment, will commit Seppuku."
Hijikata twitched at those words. Every emotion and bit of stress that was weighing down on him at that moment finally snapped, and he ran towards Yamanami with his sword and stood in front of him.
"This is your soul from when you were a samurai," Hijikata hissed as he held out Yamanami's old sword. "The least you can do now is cut your stomach like a true samurai."
Yamanami sat up and smiled. "Today is February twenty-third right Hijikata-kun? This is the day we set foot in the capital as part of the Roshigumi. It's a day to remember. Whatever happens from now…I pray that it will mean something."
Suddenly, Yamanami drew his sword and ran out towards Hijikata, causing Kondo to jump up. Yamanami's sword fell on Hijikata's shoulder but did not cut, seeing this; Kondo sat back down still shaking from the scare.
Then blood fell from Yamanami's mouth.
"Hehe." Yamanami smiled. "You see? Wasn't that an excellent example of the fast draw?"
Souji's sword was deep within Yamanami, and Souji could see blood now seeping out of the wound.
"Once you bare your fangs," Yamanami began, "don't hesitate for a second to kill. Even if it's your friend." The wooden sword fell from his hands. "It's a tribute to your training."
Yamanami fell to the floor with Souji following him because of his sword. Souji saw that Yamanami's sword was made of bamboo and couldn't do any harm only to realize what he had just done. He quickly drew his sword out, causing Yamanami to grunt in pain.
"You've probably forgotten about this already but…long ago, back in Hino…you asked me to do something," Yamanami began as he fell to his knees, still holding onto Hijikata and dragging him down. "But I was helpless and…I'm sorry. I'm sorry Hijikata-kun, please regret this."
The words hit Hijikata and triggered memories he had forgotten over time. Before he could think any of them over, Yamanami dragged him down further.
"The only way I can stop you…is by making you do what you hate most. So please regret this…and don't do anything else…you'll regret."
Blood began to pool underneath Yamanami's legs and Hijikata could feel the blood staining his clothing. Everything on Hijikata was beginning to become stained with deep red blood, and soon he could feel it against his skin.
"Don't…," Yamanami whispered. "Let Din-chan become something you regret…please, watch after…her."
"Enough Sannan!" Kondo called out. "That's enough! Souji-kun…please be his second."
"Souji-kun." Yamanami turned to him. "Please…it hurts."
Souji lined his sword up with Yamanami's neckline as he closed his eyes and got ready to feel the pain stop. He could hear Souji raise his sword, and the sounds of Kondo crying. The sound of Souji's sword swooping down soon became the only thing Yamanami could hear and then…
Silence.
Three days. Three small days had passed since Yamanami had committed Seppuku, and everyone had already said goodbye. Kondo had kept himself in his room, and just made decisions from there, while Hijikata sat, looking outside of his back room and didn't say anything to anyone. The Shinsengumi was quiet, and felt so empty compared to what it usually was, and the quiet, dead Shinsengumi, was the Shinsengumi Din came home to.
"Hijikata!" Din called as she strolled into his room with a brown box in her arms. "Hijikata…what's wrong?"
"You…you haven't heard?" Hijikata asked as smoke from his pipe came up from him.
"Heard what?" Din placed her box down and sat down. "What's wrong? This place is so quiet."
"Yamanami…is dead."
Din chocked. "Who killed him?"
"He committed Seppuku for deserting the Shinsengumi."
"Deserting!?" Din yelled. "Why the hell did he leave?!"
"I…he thought he would be in my way." Hijikata closed his eyes.
"So he just took off?" She shook her head. "When did this happen? Where is he now?"
"Three days ago, he's dead and buried at the Koen Temple." Hijikata puffed out a white cloud of smoke.
A burning feeling came from Din's eyes and suddenly tears were falling from them. She shook her head and stretched outwards until she was kneeling down on the floor with her head forward and on the floor.
"Yamanami-kun," she whimpered. "Yamanami-kun!!" she cried.
Hijikata sat there and listened to Din cry and slam her fists down on his floor over and over again. She cried out to his name, asking once in awhile why he had done it, and finally just began crying. It was the same hard crying he had heard come from her when she was talking about her little sister. Her breathing became hard, and he could hear her trying to gain a hold of what her body was going through.
"Yamanami-kun," she whispered as she pushed herself off the floor.
"It's just…Hijikata-kun. I don't feel like I belong in the Shinsengumi anymore… whatever I do there is always treated so badly, and Hijikata-kun is always one step above me it seems. I'm always arguing with him and it makes me feel like I don't belong there."
Din finally got all the way up. "This is all your fault!" she screamed.
Hijikata turned around. "What the hell do you think you're talking about?"
"Yamanami-kun left because of YOU!" she yelled, looking at him in the eyes. "If he hadn't been forced to leave, he wouldn't be at Koen Temple!!"
"What?" Hijikata ripped his pipe out of his mouth and placed it down in a safe place.
"You killed Yamanami-kun!" Din shook her head and slammed her right fist down onto the floor. "He's dead because of you!"
Hijikata jumped up from where he was standing and walked over to Din. She glared up towards him.
"You killed Yamanami-kun," she repeated as they looked at one another.
He found himself glaring towards her, and once again he slapped her across the face. Before he could do anything more, Din moved up and shoved Hijikata away from her. He fell back a bit but placed his left hand behind his back and caught himself. When he looked back up to her, she had scooted away from him and was now sitting up against his wall.
"Don't ever," Din began, wiping the small trail of blood from her mouth, "touch me like that again."
"You have no idea what happened while you were off running around," Hijikata hissed. "No idea at all."
"All I need to know is that Yamanami-kun is gone," Din answered back, tears coming back to her eyes. "And…and I'll never be able to see him again. I'll never be able to argue with him again! I can't talk to him, and I can't…I can't…"
"None of us can do anything with him ever again," Hijikata said as he looked away from her.
"I think you belong in the Shinsengumi though."
"Was that not good enough?" Din asked as she held her head in her hands. "Yamanami-kun, you gave me such good advice…I'm sorry I couldn't help you."
Hijikata finally stood up and returned to the spot where he had been sitting before. Din could smell that he had lit his pipe once more, and smoke began to rise up from where he was sitting.
"Do what you want I don't care," Hijikata said. "Go ahead leave again or stay I don't care right now."
Din stood up without saying another thing to him, and left the room. Hijikata ignored what had just happened, and kept smoking.
Tatsunosuke sighed and placed his forehead on his arm as he balanced his elbow on the table. His headache was coming back and he just couldn't concentrate on the numbers sitting in front of him. With a sigh, he placed his head on the desk.
Din-chan. He wondered as he closed his eyes. When are you coming back? I…think I need someone to talk to.
Tatsunosuke's door opened and Din walked in. He sat up and looked over towards her to see how red her eyes were.
"Din-chan," he whispered.
She walked over to him, and fell to her knees in front of him. Her body fell forward, and Tatsunosuke caught her and gently shook her.
"Din-chan! Din-chan what's wrong?!" he asked.
"Yamanami-kun," she whispered. "He's gone."
He gripped her kimono in his hands. "I'm sorry Din-chan."
"Tatsu-kun." She buried her face in his shoulder, and wrapped her arms around him as she began crying once more. "I didn't even get to say good bye to him! It's not fair!"
"I'm sorry." Tatsunosuke's eyes began to water.
She began to cry once more, and kept pushing her face deeper and deeper into his neck while he held her closer to him. He could feel her tears hitting his kimono over and over again until a large stain began to form on his kimono.
"T-Tatsu-kun," she whimpered. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" he asked with a slight sniffle. His eyes glistened from the water gathering underneath them, and he found himself breathing a bit quicker then normal.
"You lost someone too." She sniffled. "I'm sorry for that…and I'm sorry I was gone for so long."
"Din-chan."
Tatsunosuke finally began to cry, not knowing why exactly he was crying. He missed Yamanami, the man who had given him his job and everything he had, and yet he hated how he felt so lonely when she was gone. Everything began to come together and hit one another as he let go of his crying, and held onto Din as tightly as he could.
R&R please!