Chapter 7. A Dream Like Yours
"Surprisingly it was not a sword that wounded your friend, Kenshin."
Taro's words vaguely registered in Kenshin's consciousness as his eyes remained fixed on the man lying in repose in the middle of the room, fitful dreams assailing him as his head moved from side to side and occasional groans would escape his lips, the words barely coherent.
The three of them were standing by the doorway, and have remained in that area for the past hour or so. The sun is now fully up in the sky, and they all had a
"Is he alright?" Kenshin asked worriedly without taking his eyes off Aoshi.
"He will be," Taro reassured him. "His fever has already broken, but his temperature is not that stable just yet. He is already out of the woods, Kenshin. It's just the medicine working, don't worry."
Sanosuke went back to what Taro first mentioned. "Hey, Taro, you said it was not a blade that wounded Aoshi. What was it, then?"
Taro drew something from his pocket and showed it to them. An empty shell of a bullet.
"What the - " Sanosuke looked at it closely. "A bullet?"
"From a Gatling gun," Taro confirmed.
"Like the one Kanryu Takeda used on the Oniwabanshu," Kenshin said quietly. He took a deep breath. "Aoshi is a powerful fighter. Anyone who could get close to him and manage to hurt him would have to be really strong and powerful to be able to pull that off. His succession technique would be enough to ward off anyone who will dare attack him. Taro," he said, finally turning his attention back to the healer, "where was he shot?"
"From behind," Taro replied simply. "The bullet pierced his back, all the way through his chest. He did not see it coming."
"Yes, he did," Kenshin said forcefully. "But it was probably too late before he could do anything to thwart it."
Sanosuke snorted in distaste. "Trust anyone to hit their opponents from behind! They are cowards, that's what they are!"
"The question is, who are they?" Kenshin shook his head in bewilderment. "Aoshi had long let go of his fighting days. He is a peaceful man now, leading the Aioya. Who could have done this? And why?"
"Maybe it has something to do with the dreams," Taro said. A loud sigh came from Sanosuke, whose puzzlement had increased continuously since he heard what Aoshi told Kenshin before losing consciousness altogether.
"This is beginning to spook me," he remarked. "Why would Aoshi have the same dreams?"
"We do not know that for sure," Kenshin said, but something tells him it was sure. The look on Aoshi's face told him they had the same dreams. His eyes showed the same fear and uncertainty Kenshin felt every time he remembers those dreams.
"I guess we would just have to wait for him to wake up," said Taro.
And they did not have to wait long. True to Kenshin's estimation, Aoshi woke up near sundown. The leader of the Oniwabanshu is one strong and powerful fighter. He was not one to go weak for very long.
After waiting patiently for Kaoru and Megumi to serve Aoshi some soup and give him another dose of some medicine, Kenshin, Sanosuke and Taro finally had their chance to speak with him. Although Aoshi seemed to still feel a lot of pain from his wound, it was clear he also wanted to talk.
"I am sorry to have arrived like that," Aoshi said softly, giving an apologetic look at everyone, especially at Taro who was just introduced to him.
"It was quite an entrance, but we do not mind," Kenshin reassured him. "Why have you come? And alone?"
"I set out from the Aioya alone," Aoshi said. "Nobody knows I was coming here."
"Misao must be worried sick right now." A picture of a spitting mad Misao flashed before Kenshin's mind and he shook his head in amusement.
Aoshi did not say anything to this.
"Who did this to you?" Sanosuke asked, and Aoshi's face became graver.
"The same people who were after Asha," he replied, his eyes on Kenshin.
"So it is true, then," Kenshin said. "You had the dreams, too."
Silently Aoshi nodded.
"What did you see?" Kenshin asked.
"It does not matter what I saw," Aoshi replied. "But WHO. I saw her, Kenshin. Her name is Asha, or at least that was what one of the men called her."
"But I got into that dream with Taro's hypnosis. I did not see you there, Aoshi."
"That is because your dream is separate from his, although you had the same images," Taro explained. "If I were to do hypnosis on him right now, he would not see you, either." The healer turned to Aoshi. "Tell me, Aoshi. What did you see?"
Aoshi breathed hard, wincing as a twinge of pain shot up his chest. "I was there, I saw the men pursuing her. Then she faced them. And fell them. But she did not kill them," he said, looking at Kenshin. "Then she ran off, towards me."
Kenshin's brows met. "I did not see her running off to someone. My dreams ended when she fled the scene."
"She ran towards me, and spoke to me."
"She spoke to you?" Sanosuke was finding everything suddenly ludicrous.
Aoshi ignored the taunting remark. "She spoke to me, and told me to run. Run while we could still get away from them."
"She told you..." Kenshin spoke in a trance.
"But I do not think she was speaking to ME directly. She was speaking to someone else, but it was through my eyes." Aoshi's brows knotted. "She called me Ken."
"Ken..." Sanosuke looked at Kenshin. "Kensin...Ken." He shook his head. "This is becoming even more confusing!"
"At first I did not understand, but then I saw the mark on her cheek," Aoshi continued.
"The scar," Kenshin said, and Aoshi nodded.
"That is why I came here."
Kenshin drew a deep breath. "I am afraid you came here for nothing, Aoshi. I am in the dark here as much as you are. I do not know what the dreams mean."
"But you have suspicions?"
"Yes, but they are too far-fetched. And as I think on them more, there seems to be a lot more questions to be asked than answers."
Sanosuke voiced out another of those questions. "What is Aoshi's involvement in all these?"
It was Taro who spoke. "Their lives are tangled," he said, as though this was the answer for everything.
Kenshin and Aoshi looked at each other, and that bond, that kinship that could only come about with time, became palpable.
"Will you tell me about your suspicions?" Aoshi asked.
Carefully, Kenshin replied. "I looked at Asha and I felt a sense of familiarity. The thing on my mind was...she is of my blood. My descendant. But I do not know more than that. I do not know why those men are after her, or what they were seeking from her. And now that you mentioned it, another question has come up. Who is Ken?"
"Must be Aoshi's descendant as well."
This quip by Sanosuke was meant to be a witticism, a sarcastic suggestion, but it seemed to hit the nail on the target, and three pairs of eyes turned to him. Sanosuke's eyes widened. "Wait a minute...you do not think..."
"Could be," Taro said. "Otherwise, why else would the dreams come to him, and through the eyes of this...Ken?"
Sanosuke groaned. "I am suddenly acquiring a splitting headache just thinking about this! Kenshin," he turned to his friend. "Do not tell me you are seriously considering this?"
Kenshin did not answer his friend. "But another question still remains. Who shot you, Aoshi?"
Aoshi shook his head. "I could not be sure but, believe it or not, when I felt the bullet hit me at the back and I fell down, I had a flash."
"Great," Sanosuke said, rolling his eyes. "This just gets better and better."
"Her face – Asha's face – rose before me, as in the dream, calling me Ken, telling me to run."
Taro and Kenshin looked at each other, thinking the same thing. The same people who ambushed Aoshi had something to do with those dreams. But what?
Before he could say anything, all four of them turned at the sound of a loud click not too far away.
Too late, the gunshots rang through the air before they could anticipate it.
"Get down!" Sanosuke shouted, pushing Kenshin to the ground.
When Kenshin bent down on the floor beside Aoshi, he also felt the walls seem to crumble and he knew the gunshots were aimed at them. As he looked up and met Aoshi's dark eyes, he knew who were shooting at them.
The same people who shot at Aoshi.
Suddenly something snapped in Kenshin's mind and, despite the continuous onslaught of the bullets shooting holes in the walls, he tried to get up, one word coming out of his mouth in a cry.
"Kaoru!"
+++++++
THANKS FOR THE R&R...Who is Asha? Soon enough, we'll find out. But we all have a clue who she is so...(
"Surprisingly it was not a sword that wounded your friend, Kenshin."
Taro's words vaguely registered in Kenshin's consciousness as his eyes remained fixed on the man lying in repose in the middle of the room, fitful dreams assailing him as his head moved from side to side and occasional groans would escape his lips, the words barely coherent.
The three of them were standing by the doorway, and have remained in that area for the past hour or so. The sun is now fully up in the sky, and they all had a
"Is he alright?" Kenshin asked worriedly without taking his eyes off Aoshi.
"He will be," Taro reassured him. "His fever has already broken, but his temperature is not that stable just yet. He is already out of the woods, Kenshin. It's just the medicine working, don't worry."
Sanosuke went back to what Taro first mentioned. "Hey, Taro, you said it was not a blade that wounded Aoshi. What was it, then?"
Taro drew something from his pocket and showed it to them. An empty shell of a bullet.
"What the - " Sanosuke looked at it closely. "A bullet?"
"From a Gatling gun," Taro confirmed.
"Like the one Kanryu Takeda used on the Oniwabanshu," Kenshin said quietly. He took a deep breath. "Aoshi is a powerful fighter. Anyone who could get close to him and manage to hurt him would have to be really strong and powerful to be able to pull that off. His succession technique would be enough to ward off anyone who will dare attack him. Taro," he said, finally turning his attention back to the healer, "where was he shot?"
"From behind," Taro replied simply. "The bullet pierced his back, all the way through his chest. He did not see it coming."
"Yes, he did," Kenshin said forcefully. "But it was probably too late before he could do anything to thwart it."
Sanosuke snorted in distaste. "Trust anyone to hit their opponents from behind! They are cowards, that's what they are!"
"The question is, who are they?" Kenshin shook his head in bewilderment. "Aoshi had long let go of his fighting days. He is a peaceful man now, leading the Aioya. Who could have done this? And why?"
"Maybe it has something to do with the dreams," Taro said. A loud sigh came from Sanosuke, whose puzzlement had increased continuously since he heard what Aoshi told Kenshin before losing consciousness altogether.
"This is beginning to spook me," he remarked. "Why would Aoshi have the same dreams?"
"We do not know that for sure," Kenshin said, but something tells him it was sure. The look on Aoshi's face told him they had the same dreams. His eyes showed the same fear and uncertainty Kenshin felt every time he remembers those dreams.
"I guess we would just have to wait for him to wake up," said Taro.
And they did not have to wait long. True to Kenshin's estimation, Aoshi woke up near sundown. The leader of the Oniwabanshu is one strong and powerful fighter. He was not one to go weak for very long.
After waiting patiently for Kaoru and Megumi to serve Aoshi some soup and give him another dose of some medicine, Kenshin, Sanosuke and Taro finally had their chance to speak with him. Although Aoshi seemed to still feel a lot of pain from his wound, it was clear he also wanted to talk.
"I am sorry to have arrived like that," Aoshi said softly, giving an apologetic look at everyone, especially at Taro who was just introduced to him.
"It was quite an entrance, but we do not mind," Kenshin reassured him. "Why have you come? And alone?"
"I set out from the Aioya alone," Aoshi said. "Nobody knows I was coming here."
"Misao must be worried sick right now." A picture of a spitting mad Misao flashed before Kenshin's mind and he shook his head in amusement.
Aoshi did not say anything to this.
"Who did this to you?" Sanosuke asked, and Aoshi's face became graver.
"The same people who were after Asha," he replied, his eyes on Kenshin.
"So it is true, then," Kenshin said. "You had the dreams, too."
Silently Aoshi nodded.
"What did you see?" Kenshin asked.
"It does not matter what I saw," Aoshi replied. "But WHO. I saw her, Kenshin. Her name is Asha, or at least that was what one of the men called her."
"But I got into that dream with Taro's hypnosis. I did not see you there, Aoshi."
"That is because your dream is separate from his, although you had the same images," Taro explained. "If I were to do hypnosis on him right now, he would not see you, either." The healer turned to Aoshi. "Tell me, Aoshi. What did you see?"
Aoshi breathed hard, wincing as a twinge of pain shot up his chest. "I was there, I saw the men pursuing her. Then she faced them. And fell them. But she did not kill them," he said, looking at Kenshin. "Then she ran off, towards me."
Kenshin's brows met. "I did not see her running off to someone. My dreams ended when she fled the scene."
"She ran towards me, and spoke to me."
"She spoke to you?" Sanosuke was finding everything suddenly ludicrous.
Aoshi ignored the taunting remark. "She spoke to me, and told me to run. Run while we could still get away from them."
"She told you..." Kenshin spoke in a trance.
"But I do not think she was speaking to ME directly. She was speaking to someone else, but it was through my eyes." Aoshi's brows knotted. "She called me Ken."
"Ken..." Sanosuke looked at Kenshin. "Kensin...Ken." He shook his head. "This is becoming even more confusing!"
"At first I did not understand, but then I saw the mark on her cheek," Aoshi continued.
"The scar," Kenshin said, and Aoshi nodded.
"That is why I came here."
Kenshin drew a deep breath. "I am afraid you came here for nothing, Aoshi. I am in the dark here as much as you are. I do not know what the dreams mean."
"But you have suspicions?"
"Yes, but they are too far-fetched. And as I think on them more, there seems to be a lot more questions to be asked than answers."
Sanosuke voiced out another of those questions. "What is Aoshi's involvement in all these?"
It was Taro who spoke. "Their lives are tangled," he said, as though this was the answer for everything.
Kenshin and Aoshi looked at each other, and that bond, that kinship that could only come about with time, became palpable.
"Will you tell me about your suspicions?" Aoshi asked.
Carefully, Kenshin replied. "I looked at Asha and I felt a sense of familiarity. The thing on my mind was...she is of my blood. My descendant. But I do not know more than that. I do not know why those men are after her, or what they were seeking from her. And now that you mentioned it, another question has come up. Who is Ken?"
"Must be Aoshi's descendant as well."
This quip by Sanosuke was meant to be a witticism, a sarcastic suggestion, but it seemed to hit the nail on the target, and three pairs of eyes turned to him. Sanosuke's eyes widened. "Wait a minute...you do not think..."
"Could be," Taro said. "Otherwise, why else would the dreams come to him, and through the eyes of this...Ken?"
Sanosuke groaned. "I am suddenly acquiring a splitting headache just thinking about this! Kenshin," he turned to his friend. "Do not tell me you are seriously considering this?"
Kenshin did not answer his friend. "But another question still remains. Who shot you, Aoshi?"
Aoshi shook his head. "I could not be sure but, believe it or not, when I felt the bullet hit me at the back and I fell down, I had a flash."
"Great," Sanosuke said, rolling his eyes. "This just gets better and better."
"Her face – Asha's face – rose before me, as in the dream, calling me Ken, telling me to run."
Taro and Kenshin looked at each other, thinking the same thing. The same people who ambushed Aoshi had something to do with those dreams. But what?
Before he could say anything, all four of them turned at the sound of a loud click not too far away.
Too late, the gunshots rang through the air before they could anticipate it.
"Get down!" Sanosuke shouted, pushing Kenshin to the ground.
When Kenshin bent down on the floor beside Aoshi, he also felt the walls seem to crumble and he knew the gunshots were aimed at them. As he looked up and met Aoshi's dark eyes, he knew who were shooting at them.
The same people who shot at Aoshi.
Suddenly something snapped in Kenshin's mind and, despite the continuous onslaught of the bullets shooting holes in the walls, he tried to get up, one word coming out of his mouth in a cry.
"Kaoru!"
+++++++
THANKS FOR THE R&R...Who is Asha? Soon enough, we'll find out. But we all have a clue who she is so...(