Senbazuru

She had been surprised by what was in the mail. It wasn't that she didn't receive mail often; it was just that the content of this particular letter was extremely unexpected. Kondou had certainly been faithful in his promise in keeping her updated, but the one thing she had wanted most had never come. Until now.

Because more than anything, Okita Mitsu had wanted to hear from the person all these letters were about. And now it appeared she had. Enclosed in Kondou's latest letter was another piece of paper with familiar handwriting. Even though it was small and obviously much shorter in length, it was infinitely more precious to Mitsu because of the identity of the sender. After all, there was only one person who would address a letter to her with Onee-san.

Souji.

Her hands trembled in trepidation as she stared at the familiar handwriting on the front of the letter, wondering what could have compelled him to write to her after so long. She hadn't heard from him since she had left him in Shuusuke's care at the Shieikan Dojo over two years ago. Her repeated requests to see him had been politely declined over the years, always with the excuse of him not having time to take away from his training. And Mitsu, recognizing the excuse for what it was, had not argued. Knowing her brother as she did, she knew that until he was ready to see her the meeting would not take place.

So what had changed? Mitsu herself had always included a letter to him in her frequent missives to Kondou and while he assured her that he had delivered them to the boy, there was no way for him to tell if Souji had ever read them. And if he had, he had certainly never answered them. Perhaps this was her long awaited reply. Struggling to remember what she had included in her last letter, Mitsu couldn't remember anything remarkable about it. Just a few insignificant details about her life and Rintarou's training progress, nothing new or exciting that would necessarily provoke a response after all this time.

Recognizing that she was stalling, Mitsu turned her attention back to the letter in her hands. More than likely she was getting worked up over nothing. Taking a deep breath, she carefully unfolded the letter and began to read. It didn't take long.

Onee-san,

I need you to help me make orizuru.

Souji

Mitsu blinked a few times before turning the paper over, thinking that there must be more to the message on the back. Seeing nothing, she read the brief missive a few more times before coming to the conclusion that there really was nothing else to it. Ten words. Mitsu hadn't known what to expect, but it certainly hadn't been a request to make paper cranes.

However, just because she didn't understand the request didn't mean that Mitsu wasn't going to accept the long awaited invitation. And apparently she also needed to find some paper.

To say that Souji was nervous about his sister's upcoming visit wasn't exactly accurate. He wasn't sure how the visit was going to play out precisely, and the part of him that wanted control over the situation balked at that idea. Perhaps the better word would be wary. Mitsu had left him after all. Dropped him off at this dojo and then started a new family. Without him. Sending letters every month didn't make up for what she had done. No matter what she said or did during this visit, he wouldn't let himself forget that. But right now, he needed her. Just for this one thing, and then he could go back to ignoring her.

Once he had assured himself that Tsune was a worthy bride to Kondou, he had promptly abandoned his temporary partnership with Hijikata in order to help plan the wedding. Souji was surprised to find that he was actually disappointed by Hijikata's lack of assistance. He had only been back to the dojo a handful of times in the past few months and he seemed to have forgotten about their arrangement all together. Souji would have thought Kondou's marriage would have been a higher priority to the medicine salesman, but apparently not.

Shaking off that train of thought, Souji returned to thinking about his current dilemma. After all, it had been the reason that he had finally written to his sister after all this time. Actually, the fact that he needed something for Kondou was the only reason he did write to his long-estranged sister. And since no one thought he was capable of helping with the wedding preparations, this was the only thing he could think of that would show Kondou and Tsune that he approved of and supported their marriage.

Senbazuru. One thousand paper cranes. This was going to take forever, but Kondou was worth it.

Souji turned his attention towards the sound of footsteps outside of his room. A soft knock preceded sliding open his shoji door, revealing Gen-san… and Mitsu. Souji hadn't been willing to greet Mitsu when she arrived so he had asked Gen-san for this favor.

"Souji, your sister has just arrived. It's been so long since you both have seen one another. It makes me so happy to see this family reunited!"

Souji attempted to hide his lack of enthusiasm. Gen-san actually had tears in his eyes over the thought of the long estranged siblings coming together. He had no idea that this was strictly a situation of need. He needed to learn how to make paper cranes and, unfortunately for him, Mitsu was the only person that he knew of that could teach him this skill. But Gen-san had always been kind to Souji so behaving rudely to his own sister in front of him would disappoint the older man.

Pasting a brittle smile on his face, Souji finally replied, "Good morning onee-san."

More than anything Mistu wanted to pull Souji into her arms, but he was clearly not especially happy to see her. While she hadn't expected a warm greeting, she had secretly hoped for one. Souji had never been one to forgive easily. Quickly shaking off her disappointment she replied, "Good morning to you as well Souji." Stepping into his room, she matter-of-factly offered him a bag. "I've brought everything that we will need."

Smiling beatifically at the two, Gen-san headed in the direction of the kitchen. "I'll make some tea and snacks for you both."

Mitsu bowed in gratitude. "Thank you Gen-san. That would be much appreciated after my long journey."

Turning back to Souji, she took a few moments to look him over. He was still small for his age. Kondou had mentioned that the older pupils at the dojo sometimes picked him on due to his small stature. Indeed, it didn't appear that he had grown at all since the last time she saw him. His features were a bit sharper, but over all he still appeared younger than his actual age. Realizing that Souji was not going to give her an opening, she quickly broke the silence. "Why are you wanting to learn how to make paper cranes?" Truthfully she had an idea, but hoped that this was a neutral enough topic that Souji would deign to speak with her.

Souji had picked up the bag and was rummaging through it, not once looking in Mitsu's direction. "Kondou-san is getting married. Gen-san said that if I wanted to show him that I wished him well, the best thing to do would be to make one thousand paper cranes to be hung up during the ceremony." He replied straightforwardly.

Aha. Mitsu thought to herself, That explains it. According to Gen-san's letters Souji hero worshipped Kondou, so going to this much trouble to learn a craft he had never been interested in before made sense. And it explained why he had finally written to her after so many years. "Gen-san is right. Gifts made from paper represent the delicate nature of a new relationship and are very appropriate for a wedding present. Supposedly, if someone folds one thousand paper cranes the gods will grant them a wish."

"A wish?" This perked Souji's interest.

"Yes." She replied. "Usually in the case of weddings, the wish is for the couple to have a long, happy marriage."

"But it could be any wish, right?" Souji persisted.

Mitsu thought for a moment. "Perhaps, although usually the wish has something to do with the reason you chose to make the orizuru. You want to do something to show Kondou-san that you care about him, so your wish would be more likely to come true if it had something to do with that."

Souji nodded. "Oh. Well, let's get started then."

Mitsu carefully removed a large stack of paper from the bag. "This was all the paper I could find with such short notice. You can use these as a template to cut more pieces once you run out. I cut them a little smaller than the average origami paper so that your strings wouldn't be too heavy."

"Strings?"

Pulling out a ball of colored twine from her bag, Mitsu answered, "Yes, strings. You thread a string through the cranes and tie a bead to the end to keep them from falling off. The streamers of cranes can then be hung up in the temple for the ceremony. Shall we get started?"

It didn't take long for Souji to catch on to the instructions. After all, with the right motivation Souji was a quick learner. Brother and sister worked in silence for some time and Mitsu began to worry. Souji was picking this up so fast that he wouldn't need her around much longer. And she wouldn't put it past him to ask her to leave as soon as he was able to fold the cranes independently and then who knew when she would hear from him again. She had to come up with a topic of conversation, anything to prolong her long sought after time with her younger brother. Perhaps she could even obtain an invitation for another visit! "So, Kondou-san tells me than your lessons are going well. He is very pleased with your progress."

Souji did not look up from his task as he replied, "I practice all the time. But I can be better for Kondou-san."

Dead end. She tried again, "I'm sure you will be. And how have your lessons with Gen-san been going?" Mitsu asked somewhat desperately.

Looking up from his half folded crane, Souji scowled in his sister's direction, "I don't know why you insisted on those lessons to begin with. They take up too much time that I could be practicing with Kondou-san."

This was the first crack Mitcu had seen in Souji's defensive walls. Anger was certainly a little better than the indifference he had been displaying since her arrival. "A good samurai needs to learn other things besides kenjutsu Souji."

"But I've learned to read and write, there's no point in learning history and poetry and tea ceremonies." Souji griped. "Besides, I've read most of Gen-san's books and the only new material I have is substandard." Despite himself, Souji did have to chuckle at the dig to Hijikata's horrible book of poetry.

"Substandard?" Mitsu asked curiously.

Completely unable to resist a chance to ridicule his rival Souji answered, "Yeah. One of Kondou-san's other students likes to write haiku, but they're horrible. None of the lines make sense! They're more like lessons of what not to do."

Mitsu was beyond pleased that Souji was actually having a real conversation with her. The pile of completed paper cranes was growing and she was relieved that even though Souji hadn't asked for assistance in some time, he also hadn't asked her to go. "Sometimes even unintended lessons can be educational. Have you learned anything else from this other student? Just because his poetry is not to your liking doesn't mean he might not have more to offer."

Souji was about to answer in the negative, but then he paused. He had been looking for a way to get even with Hijikata since the man had embarrassed him so thoroughly. Twice. If he played his cards right, he could even get a front row seat for his revenge. It would mean that he couldn't avoid Mitsu forever, but this might just be worth it. Mitsu was a force to be reckoned with, anyone who had ever met her could attest to that. Even Kondou-san seemed a little intimidated by her. Judging by how much glee Hijikata took out of educating him in the ways of women, he was sure that most of it was completely inappropriate, or at least it certainly would be in the eyes of his older sister. And if Mitsu wanted to indulge in some family bonding, why not make it worth his while? Hijikata had been expecting retaliation from Souji since that night and had been on his guard. But he would never expect someone who looked as gentle as Mitsu to exact revenge upon him. The siblings shared many of the same features; auburn hair, green eyes, and the ability to hold a grudge. While Hijikata would know with merely a glance that Souji was up to something, Mitsu was much better at concealing her true thoughts and feelings… until it was too late.

Decision made, Souji picked his words carefully. "Oh yes, Hijikata-san is very worldly. He travels all over the prefecture selling medicine. When he's in town he comes to the dojo for kenjutsu lessons. But recently he's also been sharing some of his stories about his travels that have been very educational."

As he had hoped, Mitsu honed in on Souji's tone and narrowed her eyes. "What kind of educational stories?"

Desperately trying to conceal a smile, he replied, "Oh, you know. They're mostly stories about all the oiran he spends time with. I can see why they call it the pleasure quarter after his stories. I thought people went there to see plays and drink tea, but Hijikata-san said something about sheathing katanas." The sound of tearing paper caused Souji to turn innocent eyes in his sister's direction. "What's wrong onee-san?"

Mitsu was furious. Who does this Hijikata-san think he is?! She took a deep breath and cleared her throat a few times before remarking, "How clumsy of me." Carefully setting aside the ruined paper and picking up another piece, Mitsu attempted to organize her thoughts. "Why in the world would that man think you want to hear about such things?"

Shrugging, Souji replied nonchalantly, "I think he just likes to brag. His personality's not too great so that's probably the only place girls will pay attention to him. But I think I'll ask him to take me next time so that I can practice more sword play."

Sword play?! This will certainly not do at all. "Souji, this man sounds disreputable. I doubt he really knows what he's talking about." Anyone who thought telling children about such matters certainly shouldn't be allowed to continue to have ready access to her younger brother. This was simply unacceptable and Mitsu would not hesitate to educate this young man.

Souji could see the wheels in his sister's head turning and knew his comments had found fertile ground. Looking at the small piles of cranes surrounding them, he knew that it would be difficult for him to finish making one thousand cranes in time for the wedding in just a few short months. Summer was already well underway and the beginning of autumn would be here before he knew it. "Ne, onee-san? Do you think you could come back a few more times to help? I have to make sure I finish these in time."

Mitsu forced her train of thought back to the present. There would be time to plan this man's destruction in the future. For now, she would revel in the fact that Souji had just invited her back for another visit. "Of course Souji, I'd be happy to. When is Kondou-san's wedding anyway?"

"A little more than two months from now."

Looking around at the cranes on the floor, Mitsu replied, "I would guess that we made around fifty or so cranes today. If we keep up this pace I think we should be able to make all one thousand by then."

Souji made sure the make his tone as surly as possible, "Onee-san, since you're doing all this work you might as well come to the ceremony and the dinner afterwards. I'll ask Kondou-san about it tomorrow."

Surprised by his offer, it took Mitsu a few moments to answer, "I- I would honored."

With that decided the two began cleaning up and sorting the completed cranes in a box in the corner of Souji's room. As he was waving his goodbyes at the front gate, he stopped when Mitsu turned and faced him once more. "Ne, Souji? Will Hijikata-san be at the wedding as well?"

Inwardly smirking, Souji replied, "Oh yes, he wouldn't miss it."

Mitsu nodded and started the trek back to her home. She would have plenty of time to devise a plan to warn this man that there would be dire consequences in store for him if he overstepped his bounds with Souji again.

Author's Notes:

1. I never meant to be away this long… Real life is such a nuisance! Between finishing grad school, having a baby, moving, and starting a new career I knew that this little hobby would have to take a back seat for a while. I never thought "a while" would end up being four years! Thankfully all my research and outlines were stashed away, patiently waiting for the day I would be able to pick this up again.

2. I've read conflicting things about Souji's older sisters and while I had always thought that Mitsu was the oldest sibling, I've also read that it was actually Kin. So for the purposes of this story, I've made Kin the oldest with the assumption that Kin was already married and had moved away which is why Mitsu would have been left to care for Souji on her own.