Chapter 5. Thick as Mist.
The year is 2004.
He was not sure how he found out, but out of nowhere the year seemed to jump out at him.
2004.
In his dreams he jumped 124 years into the future.
So that is why the place seemed familiar, and yet particularly strange, to him.
He looked around him and found he was back in that dark alley. Something told him that the girl and her pursuers would not be here for a few minutes yet.
With quick strides he ran to the direction where he knew she would come from, hoping he would see something that would make things clearer.
When he reached the end of the alley he quickly rounded the corner, troubled that nobody seems to be frequenting this area.
Kenshin had been sprinting for quite a while when he stopped at the sound of people talking in hushed tones.
He moved against the wall, craning his neck to catch the words.
"Tonight, we have to get her, or the boss will have our hide."
"Yeah," came another man's voice. "I'm sick and tired of him breathing down our neck every time she slips from our grasp."
"Then quit yakking and do your thing! She's just a girl, after all!"
Kenshin froze as he recognized the voice of the last man who spoke. He sounded like the leader of the four men in his dreams.
Slowly he moved his head to sneak a peek at the conversing men.
True enough, they were the four attackers in his dreams, and they were poised as though they were waiting for someone to pass this way.
One of the men spoke in a low voice.
"Are you sure she will come this way?"
"Of course!" hissed the leader. "Our people have been tracking her for the past few days. Any minute now she will be here. Whatever happens, you must all remember she is just a girl."
"Yeah," said the man who asked the question. "A girl who could kick major ass! From the way she had continually eluded our grasp and kicked the shit out of most of our men, I am quite ready to believe she has the skill of the Old School."
"It doesn't matter! She is still a girl!"
The other guy muttered, "Say that again when you're down on the ground, begging for her not to cut your head off!"
"She's a pacifist, or at least the boss says she is. She would not kill anyone!"
Kenshin moved his head back quickly as one of the men turned his head in his direction.
Which was silly, he realized at exactly that very same moment. This isn't real. They could not see him.
Carefully he eased out of his hiding place and walked towards the men. Sure enough, neither of them felt his presence among them. They remained crouched low behind the wall, looking at the walkway down below.
Kenshin even stood beside the leader, trying to assess his face beneath the mask. He knew it was useless, since he would not be able to recognize him anyway. These men live in the year 2004. Meanwhile he is from 1880.
The guy on the leader's left whispered, "What else do we know about this Asha?"
The leader shrugged. "She is a journalist, she has some martial arts skills, she comes from a long line of swordmasters, and she carries a secret that the boss wants."
"Then why does the boss want her dead?"
"Because she could not be caught alive, stupid!" The leader shook his head in exasperation. "The boss figured if we could not get the secret out of her, then we'd better finish her off before others could get wind of her existence."
"Hmm...I wonder what secret that is?"
"I wouldn't know," the leader said.
"What if it is valuable, this secret? We could take it for ourselves!"
The leader looked at his companion with derision. "The boss says to finish her off, and so we shall! Now stop talking and keep your eyes open."
A lot of questions flew in Kenshin's mind. Who is this girl named Asha? And why are they after her? What secret are they talking about?
The bigger question is: why did Taro said this concerns him?
Suddenly he sensed something in the air, a fact that amazed him since he thought even his sharp senses deserted him in this time and place, in this state of mind.
Slowly he turned his head and saw her.
She was moving stealthily, jumping through the wall almost soundlessly, considering she was wearing those incongruous shoes with those heels.
Suddenly he felt himself urging her to go on and stay down as she moved through the walls so as not to attract the attention of these four guys.
But to his chagrin she stopped when she was on top of the high wall, and yelled.
"I hope I have not kept you waiting!" she said.
At this the four men turned to look up at her.
"Get her!" the leader shouted and they all rushed forward.
Kenshin thought he saw a trace of a smile on her face as she jumped down from the wall and ran away.
Adrenaline pumping through him, Kenshin ran the other way, hoping he would come out behind Asha when she faces the men.
As he ran he marveled at his own speed. It felt almost as though he were flying. Then it occurred to him. He isn't really here. He is more like a mirage.
So it came as no surprise when he got back to the area where he first arrived at and saw her stop from her flight and turn around to face the oncoming men.
The four, upon seeing her stop, also stopped in their tracks.
Kenshin moved to stand beside Asha and gazed at her profile.
He wasn't imagining it. She really had the scar, although not as sharp and visible as his. In fact, at this close range, it did not look like a scar that would arise from a wound or cut.
It looked more like a simple birthmark.
But it looked – unnervingly – like his very own scar.
Unconsciously Kenshin touched the scar on his face, wondering why this girl named Asha also has it.
Asha is striking. He was sure that in broad daylight she would be very beautiful. He could only see the bridge of her nose, her almond eyes that even now are blazing with barely concealed anger.
He tore his gaze away from her when one of the men spoke.
"Tired of running?"
"Tired of chasing?"
Laughter. "You have some nerve, girl. Too bad that courage that you inherited from your ancestors will end here and now!"
The four men moved forward, but Kenshin sensed she had no plans of running or even turning back.
Instead she reached for a sword from her side.
She spoke in a cold voice. "One thing's for sure, though. You will not be the ones who will end it. And not here, not now."
He blinked at the image of the sakaba. He could not be wrong. The sword, glinting in her hand as she raised it before her, was unmistakably his. The very blade crafted by the hands of Shakku, handed to Kenshin by his son.
"Who wants to go first?" she challenged.
Kenshin seemed to hold his breath as he watched her execute a perfect Ryuu Kan Sen Tsumuji, bearing to the air so gracefully, spinning so fast she looked like a dancer defying the laws of gravity. With a single move, the three men were sprawled on the ground.
She landed on both feet, still so graceful.
"I guess you all could not wait for your turns, huh?"
"I see you have the skills. No wonder they want you dead." Then came the attack, as Kenshin stood by helplessly, his eyes wide, dread filling him as the images from his dream came back to him.
"No!" The cry was torn out of her when suddenly the leader's blade pierced through her left shoulder.
But something happened that Kenshin did not see in any of his dreams.
With a swift move Asha moved the left side of her body to the back such that the blade of the leader did not entirely penetrate through her back. Falling on her right knee, she rammed the hilt of her sword right under the leader's chin, sending him backward.
Before the leader could gather his bearings and get back up, she was looming above him, the tip of her sword on the base of his neck.
"Move, and you die," she said in an icy tone.
The leader only gawked up at her. Kenshin moved forward to get a clearer view of Asha's voice.
The tip of the sakaba dug deeper into the tender flesh, and Kenshin suddenly became afraid she would finally end the man's life.
She was breathing heavily, looking down at him, the wound on her shoulder forgotten.
"Tell your boss to stay away from me and my people. Or I would not hesitate to end your life."
The leader met her gaze. "You have something the boss wants."
"Tell him it is not his for the taking." She leaned closer and whispered, "I warn you. Do not awaken the dead."
Then, forcefully, using the blunt edge of her sword, she hit him on the side of his head, rendering him unconscious.
For a moment she stared down at the unconscious man and whispered, "Do not awaken the dead. They are resting."
She sheathed the sword and, with light feet, left the area.
Kenshin was left there, standing, looking after her. When she disappeared from view, he turned to look down at the unconscious leader and the other three who were still having trouble fully regaining consciousness.
He crouched low and looked closely at the leader's face.
It's no use. They are unfamiliar.
Suddenly he felt a strong breeze blow in, so strong that it sent his hair whipping around his face. When he finally managed to get them out of his eyes, he saw Taro seated before him.
He blinked, and looked around, recognizing the shed, the flame in the wick of the single candle, the darkness of the 1880 night outside...
Sanosuke was staring at him with expectation on his face.
"Kenshin?" Sanosuke asked. "Are you alright?"
He is back in his own time. He is awake.
Sanosuke peered at him more closely.
Kenshin looked back at Taro.
"What did you see?" the healer asked solemnly. "What did you hear?"
Slowly he repeated the words Asha had spoken.
"Do not awaken the dead. They are resting."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
so there's the update, Brittanielove... ( thanks for the shout-out, and also to PraiseDivineMercy...the girl's identity remains a mystery..haha! hope you will read it till it is revealed! But you have some pretty good guesses there! Dragon_Master271, thanks for the assistance, and I would be reading Aka Ryu, don't worry! Now you piqued my interest for dragonlance. (
The year is 2004.
He was not sure how he found out, but out of nowhere the year seemed to jump out at him.
2004.
In his dreams he jumped 124 years into the future.
So that is why the place seemed familiar, and yet particularly strange, to him.
He looked around him and found he was back in that dark alley. Something told him that the girl and her pursuers would not be here for a few minutes yet.
With quick strides he ran to the direction where he knew she would come from, hoping he would see something that would make things clearer.
When he reached the end of the alley he quickly rounded the corner, troubled that nobody seems to be frequenting this area.
Kenshin had been sprinting for quite a while when he stopped at the sound of people talking in hushed tones.
He moved against the wall, craning his neck to catch the words.
"Tonight, we have to get her, or the boss will have our hide."
"Yeah," came another man's voice. "I'm sick and tired of him breathing down our neck every time she slips from our grasp."
"Then quit yakking and do your thing! She's just a girl, after all!"
Kenshin froze as he recognized the voice of the last man who spoke. He sounded like the leader of the four men in his dreams.
Slowly he moved his head to sneak a peek at the conversing men.
True enough, they were the four attackers in his dreams, and they were poised as though they were waiting for someone to pass this way.
One of the men spoke in a low voice.
"Are you sure she will come this way?"
"Of course!" hissed the leader. "Our people have been tracking her for the past few days. Any minute now she will be here. Whatever happens, you must all remember she is just a girl."
"Yeah," said the man who asked the question. "A girl who could kick major ass! From the way she had continually eluded our grasp and kicked the shit out of most of our men, I am quite ready to believe she has the skill of the Old School."
"It doesn't matter! She is still a girl!"
The other guy muttered, "Say that again when you're down on the ground, begging for her not to cut your head off!"
"She's a pacifist, or at least the boss says she is. She would not kill anyone!"
Kenshin moved his head back quickly as one of the men turned his head in his direction.
Which was silly, he realized at exactly that very same moment. This isn't real. They could not see him.
Carefully he eased out of his hiding place and walked towards the men. Sure enough, neither of them felt his presence among them. They remained crouched low behind the wall, looking at the walkway down below.
Kenshin even stood beside the leader, trying to assess his face beneath the mask. He knew it was useless, since he would not be able to recognize him anyway. These men live in the year 2004. Meanwhile he is from 1880.
The guy on the leader's left whispered, "What else do we know about this Asha?"
The leader shrugged. "She is a journalist, she has some martial arts skills, she comes from a long line of swordmasters, and she carries a secret that the boss wants."
"Then why does the boss want her dead?"
"Because she could not be caught alive, stupid!" The leader shook his head in exasperation. "The boss figured if we could not get the secret out of her, then we'd better finish her off before others could get wind of her existence."
"Hmm...I wonder what secret that is?"
"I wouldn't know," the leader said.
"What if it is valuable, this secret? We could take it for ourselves!"
The leader looked at his companion with derision. "The boss says to finish her off, and so we shall! Now stop talking and keep your eyes open."
A lot of questions flew in Kenshin's mind. Who is this girl named Asha? And why are they after her? What secret are they talking about?
The bigger question is: why did Taro said this concerns him?
Suddenly he sensed something in the air, a fact that amazed him since he thought even his sharp senses deserted him in this time and place, in this state of mind.
Slowly he turned his head and saw her.
She was moving stealthily, jumping through the wall almost soundlessly, considering she was wearing those incongruous shoes with those heels.
Suddenly he felt himself urging her to go on and stay down as she moved through the walls so as not to attract the attention of these four guys.
But to his chagrin she stopped when she was on top of the high wall, and yelled.
"I hope I have not kept you waiting!" she said.
At this the four men turned to look up at her.
"Get her!" the leader shouted and they all rushed forward.
Kenshin thought he saw a trace of a smile on her face as she jumped down from the wall and ran away.
Adrenaline pumping through him, Kenshin ran the other way, hoping he would come out behind Asha when she faces the men.
As he ran he marveled at his own speed. It felt almost as though he were flying. Then it occurred to him. He isn't really here. He is more like a mirage.
So it came as no surprise when he got back to the area where he first arrived at and saw her stop from her flight and turn around to face the oncoming men.
The four, upon seeing her stop, also stopped in their tracks.
Kenshin moved to stand beside Asha and gazed at her profile.
He wasn't imagining it. She really had the scar, although not as sharp and visible as his. In fact, at this close range, it did not look like a scar that would arise from a wound or cut.
It looked more like a simple birthmark.
But it looked – unnervingly – like his very own scar.
Unconsciously Kenshin touched the scar on his face, wondering why this girl named Asha also has it.
Asha is striking. He was sure that in broad daylight she would be very beautiful. He could only see the bridge of her nose, her almond eyes that even now are blazing with barely concealed anger.
He tore his gaze away from her when one of the men spoke.
"Tired of running?"
"Tired of chasing?"
Laughter. "You have some nerve, girl. Too bad that courage that you inherited from your ancestors will end here and now!"
The four men moved forward, but Kenshin sensed she had no plans of running or even turning back.
Instead she reached for a sword from her side.
She spoke in a cold voice. "One thing's for sure, though. You will not be the ones who will end it. And not here, not now."
He blinked at the image of the sakaba. He could not be wrong. The sword, glinting in her hand as she raised it before her, was unmistakably his. The very blade crafted by the hands of Shakku, handed to Kenshin by his son.
"Who wants to go first?" she challenged.
Kenshin seemed to hold his breath as he watched her execute a perfect Ryuu Kan Sen Tsumuji, bearing to the air so gracefully, spinning so fast she looked like a dancer defying the laws of gravity. With a single move, the three men were sprawled on the ground.
She landed on both feet, still so graceful.
"I guess you all could not wait for your turns, huh?"
"I see you have the skills. No wonder they want you dead." Then came the attack, as Kenshin stood by helplessly, his eyes wide, dread filling him as the images from his dream came back to him.
"No!" The cry was torn out of her when suddenly the leader's blade pierced through her left shoulder.
But something happened that Kenshin did not see in any of his dreams.
With a swift move Asha moved the left side of her body to the back such that the blade of the leader did not entirely penetrate through her back. Falling on her right knee, she rammed the hilt of her sword right under the leader's chin, sending him backward.
Before the leader could gather his bearings and get back up, she was looming above him, the tip of her sword on the base of his neck.
"Move, and you die," she said in an icy tone.
The leader only gawked up at her. Kenshin moved forward to get a clearer view of Asha's voice.
The tip of the sakaba dug deeper into the tender flesh, and Kenshin suddenly became afraid she would finally end the man's life.
She was breathing heavily, looking down at him, the wound on her shoulder forgotten.
"Tell your boss to stay away from me and my people. Or I would not hesitate to end your life."
The leader met her gaze. "You have something the boss wants."
"Tell him it is not his for the taking." She leaned closer and whispered, "I warn you. Do not awaken the dead."
Then, forcefully, using the blunt edge of her sword, she hit him on the side of his head, rendering him unconscious.
For a moment she stared down at the unconscious man and whispered, "Do not awaken the dead. They are resting."
She sheathed the sword and, with light feet, left the area.
Kenshin was left there, standing, looking after her. When she disappeared from view, he turned to look down at the unconscious leader and the other three who were still having trouble fully regaining consciousness.
He crouched low and looked closely at the leader's face.
It's no use. They are unfamiliar.
Suddenly he felt a strong breeze blow in, so strong that it sent his hair whipping around his face. When he finally managed to get them out of his eyes, he saw Taro seated before him.
He blinked, and looked around, recognizing the shed, the flame in the wick of the single candle, the darkness of the 1880 night outside...
Sanosuke was staring at him with expectation on his face.
"Kenshin?" Sanosuke asked. "Are you alright?"
He is back in his own time. He is awake.
Sanosuke peered at him more closely.
Kenshin looked back at Taro.
"What did you see?" the healer asked solemnly. "What did you hear?"
Slowly he repeated the words Asha had spoken.
"Do not awaken the dead. They are resting."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
so there's the update, Brittanielove... ( thanks for the shout-out, and also to PraiseDivineMercy...the girl's identity remains a mystery..haha! hope you will read it till it is revealed! But you have some pretty good guesses there! Dragon_Master271, thanks for the assistance, and I would be reading Aka Ryu, don't worry! Now you piqued my interest for dragonlance. (