Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin was created by Watsuki Nobuhiro; all rights reserved to Sony, Shueisha JUMP, and Anime Works. All the other characters in this fiction are mine and can only be used with my permission. This piece of fiction was solely created for entertainment purposes only. I am not making any money from this.
Red River, Blue Sky
by: Crimson Prophet
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In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falleth upon men,
in slumberings upon the bed:
then he openeth the ears of men,
and sealeth their instruction,
that he may withdraw man from his purpose,
and hide pride from man.
-from the Holy Bible, book of Job,
chapter 33, verses 15 to 17.
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She is here.
She is here in his dreams again.
In his dream of endless blood.
In his dream of memories.
She has been in his dreams ever since the nightmares started, by his side like a shadow as he trudged through memories and relived his life, torturing himself. He doesn't know her name; she never spoke, never uttered a word nor even a sound. He doesn't know her face; her form has always been shadowed, and yet he knew she cried; cried for him in a way he could never permit himself.
With tears like glittering diamonds set against the velvety darkness of the night.
Tears that he wouldn't - couldn't- shed for himself.
Tears she shed for him, for his pain, for his burdens, for his grief.
Tears that he knew he would forget the moment he steps out from this dream.
And yet, he remembers her the moment he steps in.
Now, he feels her walking silently next to him, near enough that he can sense her presence, far away enough that he can't reach her, or touch her. He stopped, studied his surroundings wearily. Once again, he was back to that place; once again, he was back -momentarily- to what he was before. Running steps, clad in combat boots, thudded heavily around him, mingling with panicked voices, calm voices, quiet voices, authorative voices, swelling in volume, rising in his ears like a ghastly symphony until he thought he couldn't take it anymore.
And then suddenly, it was quiet.
He couldn't make up in his mind what he feared more, this ominous silence, or the painful noise before.
Danger, his sense immediately screamed, and he whirled around, a sword appearing in his hands as he automatically brought it up, meeting another shadowed sword. Battle-reflexes taking over, he fought without heed, without mercy, like a madman whose bloodlust was too hard for him to control. The urge to kill rose dangerously in his blood as he raised his weapon again and again, pitting it against his unknown foe.
A feral smirk lit up his features when he flet his blade sink against soft, pliable human flesh.
His blood sang, smelling victory, and he raised his sword up high for the final blow.
No! I'm not like this anymore!
With a gasp, he wrenched his sword away, dropping the weapon by suddenly nerveless finngers as the thought pounded frantically through his head. Shaking his head slowly, he stepped away, eyes horror-filled at what he had almost done. His hands clenched, opened and clenched at his sides, as he breathed shallowly, shuddering. His hands opened and he raised them up, looking down at them.
They were covered with blood; stained with blood.
Not again, not again....not like this!
Not again, not like this!
He started to scrub his hands harshly, his breath coming faster and faster, eyes wild. He scrubbed them, not minding the pain, not minding that each hard scrub brought forth new blood, new pain, new stain. All that he noticed was the blood. The seemingly endless blood.
The blood wouldn't go away...It won't go away!
It will never go away!
His hands slowed in their vigorous scrubbing, then stopped as he sank down to his knees. He bowed his head as his hands splayed on the dark floor, then clenched as the thought pounded relentlessly through him, keeping time with his own heartbeat. The words seemed to taunt him, his heartbeat mocking him, reminding him that he was alive, but she wasn't living. His hands uncurled as he raised his head, eyes dimming, going vacant as those thoughts continued to ridicule him. He stared ahead as visions of murder, of tears, of blood, of death flashed before him.
Death dealt and meted out by his own uncaring hands.
His scar slowly dripped blood down his face, and yet he didn't notice, eyes fixed on the visions before him. Blood slowly started to rise, resembling a red river, as if intending to drown him, but still, he didn't take notice, didn't take heed, uncaring of what happened to him now.
»Don't lose yourself!«
He jerked, surprised by the wholly unfamiliar voice, but the blood continued to rise. His eyes continued to stare.
»Don't lose hope! There is still life. Don't give up!«
A hand, shadowed yet warm, touched his cheek, wiping away the blood trickling down his scarred cheek. His eyes started to focus at her touch, life returning. He tried to see, but all he can see was tears, glittering, shining in the total darkness of his dream. Even if he had never heard his voice before, he knew. Knew that it was his constant companion who walked beside him in his dreams. Knew that somehow, she protected him.
The blood ceased rising, then slowly disappeared.
He raised bemused eyes to her.
But all he saw was shadows, and a single tear trickling down a cheek.
Who are you? Why did you save me?
He felt her surprise as she jerked back, her hand starting to slide away from his cheek, but he swiftly caught it, then bringing it back to his cheek. And felt her shock. He wondered at it, then pushed that thought away. Once again, he tried to discern her face from the shadows, but to no avail. And yet he could feel the warmness of her flesh.
Who are you? Please tell me.
»You...you can hear my voice?« He felt her kneel down in front of him, unseen clothes rustling. He felt her hand trembling underneath his. »You can hear my voice, hear me speak?«
Yes, I can hear you.You're the one who accompanied me through my drems, the one who saved me.
»You...know this is a dream,« He heard he stated wonderingly, hesitantly. »You have felt me all this time?«
He nodded; held her hand tighter. At this moment, he felt as if she was his lifeline, the only one keeping him sane. Who are you?
»It doesn't matter.«
It does, very much. Who are you?
»If I told you that I am your conscience, would you believe me?«
He shook his head. Too well does he know his conscience; well enough to know it is not she. Even now he knows that his conscience was the one who caused this dream, among others. How can she save him from it if she was his conscience? No, I don't believe you.
»I thought so.«
Tell me.
»I am nothing more than a dream inside a dream,« she told him, regret laced through her voice. Her hands began to vanish, until his hand clutched on at air. Immediately, he felt bereft and he stood up, knowing instinctively that she was about to leave. »A dream inside a dream. Nothing more than that.«
No, you're more than that! How can you believe that is so?
He felt rather than saw her sad smile. »Because it is true.« He felt her slowly stepping back, light beginning to shine behind her back. He shielded his eyes from the intense light. »There is danger coming near.«
What do you mean?
»There is danger coming near,« she repeated again, her light sluicing the darkness of his dream, blinding him. But he could snese that she had stopped moving. He took a step forward. »You must take heed. There are trying times ahead.«
Wait, don't go!
She shook her head as he took another step. »I must go, and you must wake. Life waits for you. You must forget -- no, you will forget me. Forget me the moment you open your eyes and move on through reality.«
No! He took another step forward, struggled to come near. I don't want to forget!
»But you will. Just like everyone else.«
Her light glowed and suddenly pulsed bright, blinding him.
With a gasp, Himura Kenshin jerked and opened his eyes.
~~~~~
"Sir! Sir! We have a reaction from her brainwaves!"
Shinomori Aoshi jerked awake, coming instantly to his feet when the nurse's message, delivered in a slightly panicked, jubilant voice, registered in his brain. He ran next to the nurse, mind leaping ahead as they made their way down the hallway. "What time? How strong? How long did it last?"
"Sir, it happened 400 H sir! It just finished just fiteen minutes ago, and it was very strong sir! It was almost off the scales! I tried to tell the doctors, but I was informed that they were busy on other tests. So I tried to find you, sir."
Aoshi checked his watch as they ran and immediately cursed vehemently under his breath. 515 H. An hour. The longest reaction they have gotten from her for the last eight years. Damn those doctors! He knew he should have trusted his gut; knew that he shouldn't have agreed on those secondary, temporary doctors his superior insisted on the day they found out that her normal doctors were taking the week off.
"Thank you for telling me," Aoshi said curtly when they reached a set of metal doors. The tall man stopped, turned to the nurse. "Please tell Lt. Col. Saitou about this; he'll want to know. You'll find him in Section three dash one."
"Yes sir." The nurse saluted him and pivoted smartly on his heel, hurrying in the general direction of the elevators.
Dropping his stern, military facade, Aoshi sighed inaudibly and rested his forehead against the doors for a second, feeling the weariness of his life catch up on him. Then he straightened up, pulling an identification card from his pocket and swiping it through the lock. The light flashed green; Aoshi punched in a sequence of numbers. The light flashed red, and an eye probe along with a hand scanner came down.
Aoshi stepped backward and held out his hand for the hand scanner; the eye probe went forward straight towards its intended use. The light flashed green again as both of the scanners went up again. After a while, the metal doors swooshed open and he stepped in, blue eyes immediately scanning the room.
The doors swooshed shut behind him, automatically locking into place.
Anyone who had seen the double metallic doors and its tight security would make the assumption that what was inside would be weapons of war, or a room filled with valuable infrmation. They would make the assumption that since this was a military base, the room being guarded so fiercely will be cold, harsh, and forbidding.
The assumption cannot be more wrong.
Instead of harsh light, the room was filled with soft, mellow light, lit by several lamps. Instead of cold tiles on the floor, Aoshi's footsteps were muffled by a thick, dark blue carpet. Instead of stark, forbidding walls, a large painting of the sea livened up the room.
And instead of being filled with weapons of destruction or valuable military information, there, in the center of the room, was a large poster bed, its translucent curtains drawn, concealing the person which slept quietly in it.
The room radiated serenity and stillness, peacefulness and calm.
The room was worlds apart from the underground military base it was nestled in.
But Aoshi didn't notice, merely pausing for amoment to get his bearings then continuing his walk. His feet took his straight towards the center of the room, towards the bed. Not taking his eyes off the bed, Aoshi reached for the cord that hung on one of the posts of the bed and pulled on it slowly. With a quiet rustle, the curtains moved, revealing the person that lay sleeping.
Long, blue-black tresses, so very much like his own, spilled over the pristine white pillows, resembling a dark river as it cascaded pver a thin shoulder. Dainty features relaxed in repose, thick eyelashes like dark fans resting on high cheekbones tinged slightly pink. A pale arm rested on top of the bedsheet pulled up only to the waist, its porcelain beauty marred only by the intravenous tubes entwined around her arm. It was hooked up to various machines by the other side of her bed, monitoring her progress.
It was a stark reminder of who and what she really was.
Aoshi sat down carefully on the bed, reaching out and enfolding her hand between his. It was warm, and like the machines that beeped quietly next to her bed, it served to remind him that she was alive. Still alive, still hanging on. He ruffled her bangs, which shifted and revealed the tiny wires which monitor her brain waves. After staring at the wires for a while, Aoshi withdrew his hand to join the other which was holding her hand. It never ceased to amaze him how strong she was, to come back over and over again to her hell. Just so that she can save and protect people she doesn't even have intimate knowlege of.
"You've been taught well by him, chibi," Aoshi murmured. "You haven't changed, even after all this years. What do you see now? What do you dream?"
Kamiya Kaoru didn't answer; she continued to sleep. As she had done for the past ten years.
Aoshi sighed again; he wasn't really expecting an answer, but then again, it doesn't hurt to hope. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath; then another, exhaling and inhaling very slowly until he felt himself completely relax, his lean body slumping over their linked hands. What little sounds spilling over from the military world just outside the double metal doors receded, until all Aoshi could hear was the calm beat of his own heart, and hers. Soon enough, Aoshi was on the very thin line between deeep, meditative sleep and wakefulness, losing himself in his consciousness. Slowly, he can feel himself losing hold on reality, and entering another world entirely.
Aoshi opened his 'eyes'. Like he expected, he was back into that world again. Into her world wherein everything was possible, as long as you dream. When he first came to this world he was rightly shocked and confused. What he neccessarily trained for didn't prepare him for this. It had taken him a while efore getting used to it. But then again, he had no choice. It was either get used to it or not see her at all.
He looked around, recognizing his surroundings. He was back again in their hometown, where they grew up in. Aoshi glanced back again at the familiar buildings. It was a sign that she was distraught, and needed to see familiar scenes. Aoshi started to walk. She hadn't materialized next to him when he entered her dream, which means she didn't know he was here. And it alarmed him. She had always known whenever someone enters her private world, her refuge from her duty.
The tall man was barely even winded when he reached their childhood home, and he burst inside the silent house, ice blue eyes gone dark with worry. Aoshi searched every room, but there was no sign of her. She wasn't waiting for him in her own room, or in the tea room. She wasn't even in the training hall, one of her most favorite hiding places. In short she wasn't in their house.
But where could she be?
Taking a chance, Aoshi went to Akabeko, the restaurant just a few blocks away from their home, where Kaoru had worked part-time when she was younger. But she wasn't there. Aoshi went to Aoiya next, where he trained when he was younger, but she wasn't there either. Kaoru was nowhere to be found.
Aoshi stood in the center of the main road, heart pounding. Where is she? She had never done this before. Never scared him like this before. Aoshi turned around, intending to search all over for her again, and it was then that his eyes caught the large, ancient tree, its branches swayig in the slight breeze.
Of course! The shrine on the top of the hill!
Why didn't he think of it before? The shrine situated on top of the hill, overlooking the town, has a large sakura tree planted next to it. It was the oldest tree in their town, and ever since Aoshi could remember, it was where Kaoru goes to whenever she was sad, lonely, angry or troubled. Aoshi picked up his pace, more than eager to know what was troubling her; wanting to know what had happened. He flew up the steps leading to the shrine, booted feet thudding loudly on the hard ground. It echoed through the air, marring the serene stillness, but Aoshi could care less. For him it was only another sign that something was wrong with her. Kaoru should have instantly appeared at his side and scolded him for being so unrespectful in the shrine grounds, no matter that this was only a dream.
Aoshi ripped around a corner, and instantly skidded into a stop. There, on the base of the tree, lay Kaoru, curled into herself. Her long, silky blue-black hair cascaded freely around her bent face, her slim form clad in a simple white dress which reminded him eerily of her hospital gown. Sunlight glimmered through the sakura-laded branches, and a slight breeze made pink petals rain and swirl lazily in the air. Usually, Aoshi would've stopped to appreciate the God-given view, but now he merely stepped forward, blue eyes gone dark with worry and concern. Slowly, Aoshi kneeled down beside Kaoru and gently took her into his arms, stroking her hair tenderly when she burrowed her head into his chest. They stayed in that position for quite some time, Aoshi rocking them back and forth, his dark head bent close over hers.
After a while, he spoke. "Mind telling me why you scared me like that, little sister?"
"Gmen ne, 'niichan," came the soft reply from within the confines of his chest. "Scaring you wasn't my intention."
Aoshi waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Finally, Kaoru turned her face up to him, blinking big blue eyes in his direction. "Mou Shinomori, I can never outwait you at all!" she complained merrily, wrinkling her nose. "All you have to do is wait in that silence of yours and then I spill out everything to you!"
He smiled at her. "So why aren't you spilling?"
"Because I'm stubborn as you, that's why."
Aoshi raised an eyebrow.
"Alright, alright, I surrender!" Kaoru sighed and sat up, looking up to the eternal blue sky. "Brother, you do realize why we're able to see each other like this, talk to each other like this?"
Aoshi was silent for a moment, then he answered quietly. "It's because of our shared blood; because we're brother and sister." He paused. "Kaoru, why are you asking me this?"
She didn't answer; merely continued gazing up to the sky.
"Kaoru?"
"Niichan...you do also know that I can dreamwalk in almost anyone's dreams, ne? And that I can talk and speak in the dreams of people with psychic abilities, no matter how slight their gift is." Kaoru continued, not answering Aoshi's question. Absently, she drew her knees up, her arms encircling it. "But perhaps not as clear as we can see each other now; even those fully gifted and trained int heir gift have to concentrate to feel me, to sense me. Only you and Mi-chan are the exception. Mi-chan because she's only slightly psychic and not trained; yet she can feel and see me like a full-blown psychic would. You, brother, because you're not psychic and yet you talk and see me so clearly."
"Yes, I know all that, Kaoru. You've told me that before." Aoshi answered abruptly, a little impatient and confused as to why his sister was avoiding his question. "Kaoru, what's going on? Why won't you answer my question?"
Kaoru suddenly tilted her head to look at him, hair swaying and playing wildly around her face as a sudden strong gust of air blew through, attesting to her agitation. "Brother, there's another exception."
"What do you mean?" Aoshi stared at her. "Kaoru..."
"There's another exception," Kaoru repeated, voice solemn, dark blue eyes hidden by the fall of her hair. "While I was walking in the dreams of another, he felt me. He heard my voice. He talked to me, and said he knew about me ever since I first stepped into his dream, and knew all of it was a dream. Brother...he touched me like you are able to."
Aoshi jerked in shock and stared at her in disbelief. "He...he can touch you and talk to you? Just like that? How can that happen?"
"I don't know," Kaoru answered quietly. "I've been thinking about it ever since I came out of his dream...been wondering why he was able to reach me. But there was no answers, not one that I can think of."
"Then that unusual reaction we got..."
Kaoru sheepishly looked up. "So that's why you came here so suddenly. I wondered at that, since yu really don't like coming here. But...Proverbs," her voice suddenly grew serious. "....having another exception wasn't all the reason why got such an unusual reaction. Not at all."
"You've seen something then, Revelation?" Aoshi asked, calling her by her official military name. "What have you foreseen?"
"Death. I see numerous deaths. Deaths amidst the burning agony of hell."
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Author's Notes:
Proverbs - a book in the Holy Bible. Shinomori Aoshi's codename.
Revelation - the last book in the Holy Bible. Kamiya Kaoru's codename.
Primus Pars - Latin for First Part.
In one's dreams, one can see the future. tsuzuku.