Disclaimer:.....you know that I don't own anyone right? RIGHT?! good..well
except for a few people that I will make up in the beginning!


Chapter 8: Any information that is helpful would be great


~*~*~*~*~*~*Beginning of Dream~*~*~*~*~*~

She was running. That was all she seemed to do.

Blackness. That was all there seemed to be.

Pain. That was all that she seemed to feel.

She tried to look around, but she was consumed in the inky blackness.
She felt a presence pull her towards to some place ahead of her and so she
lifted her head to see.


Her eyes tried to see through the void and suddenly there was a flash of
lightening and the sound of metal grating against metal.


She felt so cold. So alone. Who was she? What was she? Why was she still
walking on? What happened to her?


So many questions plagued her mind that she closed her eyes and cried.


Her heart felt as if it were about to break from all the pressure which this
depressing feeling was applying.


"Hey, there is that little girl! Let's get her!" A voice cackled behind her.


Her big eyes turned to the presence behind her, full of fright.


"Wh-who are you?" she asked.


"Someone you fear." the voice responded.


"What?" she asked meekly, before her sight was blinded by another flash.


She cried out in pain as she covered her eyes.


~*~*~***~*~*~*~*~*~***~~*~~


"Sano!!! You're going the wrong way, you ROOSTER-HEAD!!!" Kaoru screamed at
the top of her lungs.


"Hey Missy you said right up here!!"


After Shinta had gotten his phone call to go some place called Mud Row,
Kaoru and Sano had gotten into Sano's 2003 red Lancer, and from there had
gotten lost.


About 5 times.


They were trying to get the Yoyogikoen PRESTIGE Apartments, located in
downtown Tokyo. It had started raining again, making the roads unsafe for
driving.


"NO!! I said left up here!! You asked 'Left, right?' and I responded
'Right.' As in agreeing with you!!"


Kaoru sighed and dragged her smooth hand in her hair in aggravation.


"Kaoru I specifically heard'Ri-' " Sano started.


But, before anyone could say otherwise; a black car came shooting out from
a cross section, heading for them.


"Sano!! LOOK OUT!!!!" Kaoru screamed, as she tried to reach over and steer
the car to the right.


The black car without any license plates swerved right in front of them,
forcing them to crash into a nearby light pole.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shishio sat in his velvet-lined oak chair. He stared intently out the
twelve foot window overlooking his property. He narrowed his eyes in
annoyance as his cell phone rang.


"What is it?" he snapped.


"I'm willing to bargain with you." a voice said.


"Oh really, and what do you have that I could possibly want, old man?"


"The journal." a voice responded curtly.


Shishio's eyes widened in mild excitement and awe but anger filled him as he
asked, "How am I supposed to know it is the real one and not just some fake
you and your pathetic followers have conjured up?"


"Would you really want to chance it?" the voice inquired.


Shishio cursed mentally. He really couldn't chance this.


"When and where old man?" Shishio growled. He hated being dragged around
like a dog.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Shinta raced across the rain slicked streets in his silver 2001 Jaguar XKR
towards Hiko's secret grotto. His mind raced as he felt his hope begin to
get fragile as he began to doubt his sister's rescue. He frowned as he
remembered his parents before they were mercilessly butchered to death.


~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~FLASH BACK~*~*~*~*~

Shinta walked towards his parent's bedroom, the storm outside getting
angrier as it continued to rain and scream with thunder.


He halted outside of their door, listening to their conversation.


"We should have never agreed to this!" he father shouted.


"Well, now what should we do? There isn't anything we can do! We have to
live with this mistake! There isn't going back to the past to fix it!" his
mother retorted.


"We were so foolish to accept this!! Damn it!" his father cursed.


"We just have to live with it, like we have been!"


"But it isn't something we can forget! Why did Hiko offer us this?"


"We have to forget, it's for her safety!"


"If it were, then why is she here? Why isn't she back in her home?"


"Because Shishio would get his filthy hands on her-"


"Shhhh!! What was that?"


Shinta widened his eyes and ran down the hall, fearful of his capture by his
father.


~*~*~*~*~**~END OF FLASH BACK~*~*~*~*~*~


Shinta sniffed and held back his tears as he thought, 'That was the night
that they were butchered by Shishio's men.'


'But what did my parents mean when they said, "We have to forget; it's for
her safety!" anyway? What secrets were they hiding from us?' Shinta thought
as he turned on the radio.


'Hirokusan Dori street has been blocked this evening due to a car accident-'
the radio said before Shinta turned it off.


'Too much drama has happened this morning, I don't think I can take much
more of this, that I can not.' Shinta thought, as he sighed.


So much had happened to his emotions, his nerves, and his heart. Some, he
didn't even understand and some he wanted to forget. All he knew at this
particular moment was that he wanted to get his sister back. And he would
sacrifice everything that he had just to see her face again.


But, that memory of his parents' death was bugging him to no end. There was
something there, he just knew it.


'But what were they really talking about?' Shinta asked himself.


'They mentioned Hiko, maybe he knows! He may understand what I am talking
about,' he thought.


He stopped at a red light and looked over at the passenger seat. He
remembered a conversation that he and Urako had a few days before she was
transported to the past.

~~*~*~*~FLASH BACK~*~*~*~*


Urako stared out the window, her eyes blankly watching the scenery pass by.


"What's the matter Urako?" Shinta asked as he drove down the street to their
dojo.


"Have you ever felt as if you were supposed to live in another time? In
another era?" she asked, still looking out the window.


"Well, I've often felt that I would have better belonged in a more peaceful
time, not like here, where we have to carry weapons to ensure our safety."
Shinta answered, as he looked for oncoming cars.


"No, I mean, some place in the past-like Egyptian or Meiji times. I feel like
I was meant to be someplace else." she said with little emotion.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~END OF FLASH BACK~*~*~*~

He turned back to the car in front of him when the lights turned green.


She always seemed to be thinking like that, always wanted to be some place
where she wasn't. She wanted to live in the past, in a place that wasn't
crowded with lies, deceit, and death.


Of course, there are always places like that. Nowadays, it has been refined
and beautified with words and meanings totally opposite of what it is
defined as. In past times all those evils weren't as unrecognizable as they
are today.


'With every good gesture, there is an evil supporting it.' Shinta thought
bitter sweetly.


It was what Urako had said before, whenever she was in deep thought.


Shinta sighed and looked into the rear view mirror, and saw a black car
behind him.


'Hmm...that car has been following me for a few blocks now...' Shinta
thought as he frowned.


He didn't want his sister's rescue to be compromised by his bad judgment,
so he did a series of twists and wrong turns to try and lose the black car
behind him.


The black car followed Shinta's movements easily, and Shinta let out a growl
of frustration.


He came upon another red light and decided to call Hiko, but he wanted to
make the call in private so the people behind him wouldn't get any ideas.


He reached inside his pants' pocket and pressed the speed dial, immediately
connecting him to Hiko.


He waited for about thirty seconds before looking down again, and noticed a
busy signal on his phone.


'Shit!' he cursed mentally. 'What could Hiko be doing? He barely uses his
cell phone!'


The light was still red, he still had time to do this. He looked down again
to his cell phone; still busy.


"Damn!" he cursed loudly.


He pressed redial again and heard the phone connecting to Hiko's cell.


"What?" a gruff voice answered.


But, before Shinta could answer, the black car slammed into his rear bumper,
causing Shinta to drop the phone; disconnecting him from Hiko.


'Shit,' Shinta thought, as he saw men ready and cock their guns in the black
car behind him.


Shinta then did the only thing he could in that situation; he pushed
the gas pedal all the way down.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~~


Aoshi paced around Misao's room restlessly, waiting for Dr. Takani to finish
her inspection of Misao.


'Damn it...what happened to you Misao?' Aoshi cursed.


A light buzzing sound then emitted from Dr. Takani's cell phone which was
positioned on her hip. It was the only thing which brought Aoshi back into
reality, and made him realize that Megumi was talking to him.


"Lord Aoshi? Make sure she takes Advil at least 4 times a day to keep the
pain down to a tolerable rate. Give her water to drink and some hot soup
but nothing else for at least a couple of days. She may catch a fever from
being out in the cold as well, and if that happens contact me immediately.
Tell her that she cannot go and practice with her kunai for at least a
couple of weeks. And to keep ice on her twisted ankle. I have to go
immediately to the hospital, a few people were seriously injured in a car
accident," she paused, " Lord Aoshi?" Megumi asked as she got ready to
leave.


"Hmm? Oh yes, thank you Megumi for your services, she will be tended to as
you have prescribed." Aoshi responded in monotone.


'Hmm...Lord Aoshi looks more troubled than usual. I wonder what's going on
with him,' Megumi thought as she packed her things and left quickly as
possible out the thick oak door.


Aoshi barely even noticed that Megumi left, for he was staring intently at
Misao who hadn't even flinched for an hour. It might have been three days
and he wouldn't have noticed, every second seemed like an eternity.


'I sent you out to gather information from our spy situated near the parks,
about Shishio's next move. What happened after that? Was our spy a traitor?
Or was he killed to get to you?' Aoshi pondered as he watched Misao frown in
her sleep.


~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~**

"Dr. Takani--Dr. Takani --room 502 , you are needed in room 502, please!"
a scratchy feminine voice said over the P.A. system.


'I'm going as fast as my damned legs can run!' Megumi thought agitatedly.


Megumi Takani was a part-time nurse turned Doctor at the St. Luke's
International Hospital in Chuo-ku, Tokyo.


She entered the glass doors to this immaculate hell of foul 'hospital
smell', death, and huge bills for poor families.


She was also the Oniwaban's personal doctor and tended to all the wounds
that were inflicted upon them.


Megumi passed by patients yelling for service and help. Some even wanting
her to help them. She wanted to help everyone, but she knew she couldn't,
she had to stay focused on the problem at hand.


If she stayed and help these people, then her patients would surely die from
mal practice on her part. And she didn't want to feel the pain and loss as
well as shame when losing a patient.


She hurried down the tiled floors, passing by empty rooms, and doctors
conversing with their nurses.


'Damn them all to hell!' she thought bitterly. 'They shouldn't be having a
good time when death and life lay in their hands!'


She ran into the elevator and pressed the level two button, anxiety riding
her nerves.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~

Shishio arrived at the end of Higashi Gyoen park one hour later, muttering
obscenities.


He had not come alone, his sentries were positioned well throughout the park
if there was an attempt on his life. He looked out over the park and saw a
few families with their children playing in the green grass, even though the
weather was murky and grey.


His cell phone vibrated again at his hip, signaling the other man's arrival
with the journal.


Shishio's need for the precious worn-out leather backed journal, was not for
historical purposes. He had heard of many legends and myths about a group of
creatures who took on the facades of humans, and wrote down their travels in
a journey. They wrote down so much valuable information; information that
told of their eventual reincarnation and someday their leader would come
back and lead them to victory once more. Shishio wanted the names and
possible leads to who these reincarnations would be and who the leader would
ultimately be.


A black car pulled up, its front bumper slightly bent, and opened its
doors.


The driver opened up his door then walked briskly around to the passenger
side and opened up the door to reveal, Kogoro Kastura.


Shishio scowled as he asked, "So, old man, where is the journal?"


Katsura chuckled a bit before answering, "I don't have it, Shishio, but he
does."


Katsura moved aside to reveal a young red-haired man, who was being shoved
out of the car.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ONE HOUR EARLIER~*~**~*~~


Shinta plowed through the thick traffic, intent on losing the threat behind
him. He caused more car accidents in that one stunt he pulled than the
percentage of car accidents that occurred in one month in Tokyo.


He tried to grab back the cell phone that had previously flew from his grasp
on the passenger seat, though every time he tried the men behind him shot at
his car.


'Shit!' he cursed, as he dodged oncoming cars.


He looked behind him to see if he had lost the black car, though instead the
side of his car met up with another black car, whip-lashing his head into
his window.


He saw men come out of the car through his blurry vision before he finally
lost consciousness.


'Urako..' he thought before falling into darkness.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~~


"I told you before! I don't know what you're talking about!" Shinta
screamed, as Shishio asked for the journal.


Shishio growled impatiently and yelled, "It seems as though your trump card
won't show Katsura! This boy is obviously lying, but we'll get no where
with that, and as such, your life is coming to a close!"


Shishio's men flooded the park and surrounded Shinta and Katsura, their guns
aimed and ready.


Suddenly Hoji appeared behind Shishio and whispered something in his ear.


Shishio growled in annoyance, and said, "Kill Katsura, it seems there is
still a use for the boy!"


Shinta wondered what Shishio could possibly want with him, but he would tell
him nothing of Urako or Hiko.


Shinta looked around nervously, he didn't have his sword, but he wouldn't
let them get him so easily. Besides, he couldn't be killed since Shishio
didn't want him hurt.


The rain came down harder, the wind whipping through loose hair; the air
sparked with electricity.


Shishio's men came toward him in attempt to take him back inside Shishio's
car. He let one man grab his arm, which he flipped to the ground then
quickly elbowed the man behind him. Shinta quickly pulled out the man's gun
from its holster at his hip, and pointed it at Shishio's men.


Two shots were heard in the air before Shinta fell to the ground, blood
pooling around him.


~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~**~*~


Hiko put down his phone in confusion. The call had been from Shinta, but he
didn't answer his phone.


'Hmmmmmm...something is fishy here......' Hiko thought as his brows
furrowed.


He glanced at Saitou, who was looking over scientists' shoulders to make
sure that they did their job correctly.


'Well...we can't really do anything as of yet because the idiot isn't here
yet!' Hiko screamed in his mind.


"Saitou, get you're Nicotine-Addicted-Ass over here!!" Hiko yelled.


Saitou growled and crewed heartily on a toothpick as he asked, "What?"


"I want you to find the idiot-Himura, and quickly!" Hiko spat out, feeling
anxious.


"Why? So he's late, he'll come here eventually," Saitou said.


"Saitou....If we wait any longer, then we won't be able to save
Urako...understand me?" Hiko grated his teeth in anger.


Saitou seemed to understand by the way his eyes widened in slight horror,
and nodded curtly.


Saitou turned abruptly and walked briskly out the door, dropping the
toothpick and lighting up another cigarette.

~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~

A/N@@--So...what do ya think? I tried to give it more tension-hehehehhe.
Sorry if it doesn't measure up to your people's standards...I was sick, and
I did the best I could with what I was handed.
LGS!! You are the BEST! I want you have a happy move and a merry settling
in your sister's house and finally into your new one ^_^ I hope to talk to
you later--via e-mail and snail-mail ^_^
Thankies for everything!! For being whom you are, for being so strong, for
being an inspiration to me, and for just everything that I admire.
AND thank you for being my beta-reader...though I will need to have a
temporary one for when you aren't there*Cries* But I shall find one, though
I will definitely get you back once you arrive at your temp. house
^_^.....and I have a possible candidate, so all who want to be my
Beta-Reader...I'm sorry but I have found a suitable one, that I have ^_^,
thank you though ^^

Please--have fun with your imagination, and may it help you run faster,
think harder, and love more!