Fights with the Shinsengumi members seem to happen a lot here in Kyoto. As I walked along, I spotted a fight that had just ended. A man in a Shinsengumi coat began to walk away, something falling as he did. I, being the kind person I am, picked up the object and followed after him.

"Excuse me," I called out to him, holding out the object he'd dropped. "I believe you dropped this..."

"Thank you-" the man started to say, but he stopped and his eyes widened. That's when I noticed how familiar he looked.

"Shinpachi?" The second his name left my lips, I found myself being picked up and spun around. "Shin! Put me down!" I tried my best to sound tough, but I couldn't keep myself from laughing.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you," he said, setting me down and holding me tightly. Then, as if suddenly remembering, he released me and took a few steps back. "Wait a minute, didn't you leave to get married to some guy that your family wanted you to?"

"Actually..." As I looked away, I felt myself blushing a little out of embarrassment. "I couldn't go through with it."

"Really?" Any normal person would have been shocked, but Shinpachi sounded almost happy that I hadn't married that guy. Though I guess I could understand that. The two of us had been really close since we were kids and when we'd gotten older, we would often fool around. Of course, no one had ever known about that. No doubt he missed that. "Why didn't you come back then?"

"There were... complications..." That was a subject I didn't really want to get into. So I avoided his question. Before he had a chance to pry, a third voice joined our conversation and reminded me of her presence.

"Mommy, who is that man?" My daughter peeked out from behind me. She was the reason I hadn't gone back to Edo... and Shinpachi.

I wasn't exactly sure how to explain this. Shinpachi and I... well, let's just say we were too close to really say we were just friends. But then again, we weren't quite lovers. Sure, the physical component was there, but we weren't in love. In the end, I went with the simplest answer I could think of. "Um... he's a friend of Mommy's, sweetie."

"Hello there," he said, kneeling down so that he was closer to her level. "What's your name?"

"Sayuri's a little shy," I answered for her as she hid her face from him. Seconds later, she was peeking out at him again. Seeing the two of them together, I realized just how much my daughter looked like her father. Not that her father knew anything about her.

Shinpachi laughed. "I see. Nothing like her mother, huh?" As he started to stand back up, Sayuri moved from her place behind and approached the man in front of me.

"Mommy, he's got the same necklace as me," she said, touching the green stones of his necklace before showing him the necklace that she always wore. "Does that mean he's my daddy?"

I felt my body freeze up. A while ago, she'd asked me about her father. She was too young to really understand, so I'd told her that she'd meet him someday. When she wanted to know more, I said that when we were younger, I'd made two necklaces that were exactly the same. I'd given one to him and I'd kept the other. Once she'd gotten old enough, I gave mine to her and told her about how it was special.

He was surprised at first, but after thinking about it for a moment, he understood. Sayuri was the reason I hadn't come back. He was the reason I couldn't go through with the arranged marriage. Everything I'd avoided saying had suddenly become clear to him.

He may not seem it, but he was actually a smart guy. Smart enough to figure out that the timing was right. I would have had to have known before I'd left that I was going to have his child, yet I hadn't said a single word to him about it.

"Looks like you've been keeping secrets from me." Shinpachi gave me a sad look. We'd never kept secrets from each other. "She's about seven now, isn't she?"

"I'm sorry I never told you..." After he spoke, I couldn't look him in the eye. I felt bad for never saying anything, but how could I have? I mean, just what could I say? "I... I was just scared..."

Suddenly, Shinpachi pulled me into his arms. "I think I can forgive you if you promise me one thing," he said, his voice calm and gentle. He certainly was taking this a lot better than I'd expected him to. "Don't keep any more secrets from me, alright?"

"Then I guess there's one more thing I should tell you..." I said with a smile as I kissed his cheek. "I've loved you since we were kids."

Sometime later...

"Hey Sano," Shinpachi asked his best friend. It was a thought he'd often had since finding out that he had a child. "Do you think I'll be a good father?"

Sanosuke Harada only laughed. It was a crazy question coming from someone like Shinpachi, who had never had much luck with the ladies. "I think you should worry about finding yourself a woman first, Shinpachi."

The man only shrugged and smiled a little bit. "Well, I was just wondering since I have a daughter."

Harada choked on the sake he'd been drinking."You what?" He couldn't have heard him right. I mean, he couldn't have just said that he had a kid...

But before either man could speak, a child's voice called out. "Hi daddy!" Harada froze in shock as the little girl threw her arms around Shinpachi, who instantly hugged her in return. She turned her head toward the red-haired man. "Are you daddy's friend?" she asked shyly.

Seeing that his friend was too surprised to say anything, Shinpachi smirked and answered for him. "Yep. That's Uncle Sano."

As the woman he loved came in with a few others following behind her, the man found himself met with many surprised and scolding expressions from his comrades. "Shinpachi, you really shouldn't keep secrets like this from us..."