A/N: I suck at Eastern spiritual beliefs =\ I tried to study a little, but it's a different culture from mine, even though I should know more... I tried to think of the times when I went to the temple as a kid, but as that wasn't my religion, I didn't understand it well. I try to write my stories in a more universal way. Don't take those things I say about ghosts too seriously, I know nothing about ghosts either. It's just fiction.


In Your Dreams


Chapter 4

It was a beautiful morning.

Lu Xun was walking to the library's direction, admiring the cheerful shadows of tree leaves dancing over the floor. The sun felt really nice against his skin, much differently from the cold of the past few days. He saw Ling Tong walking merrily and it warmed his soul; the man had been so down lately that it pained him, so it was very relieving to see him with a smile on his face.

"Good morning, Boyan!"

"Good morning, Gongji" Lu Xun greeted with a smile when Ling Tong passed by him. He was about to follow on his way when he felt the sudden urge to ask, "Hm... Gongji?" he called the man's attention.

"Yes, Boyan."

"Did you realize you had something on... you?" Ling Tong's body was covered with several pieces of paper with inscriptions.

"Ah this..." Ling Tong looked briefly at himself and laughed nervously. "These are good luck charms; you know, health, money, harmony, peace... those things."

"Ah..." Lu Xun could see Ling Tong was feeling uncomfortable and smiled warmly to make him feel less uneasy. "Ok then, see you around," he continued on his path.

The library wasn't far and soon he entered the place. There was a person waiting for him. "I see you arrived early, master Kanetsugu."

The man stood up and smiled brightly, "I was anxiously waiting for this moment, I love to study the traditions of this time with you," he said excitedly.

"Oh and I appreciate hearing of your time," Lu Xun smiled and sat in front of the man. It was very important for him to learn the stories of a future period, so he could use it as a valuable strategy weapon. "Shall we continue with the topic of yesterday?"

"Yes, of course," Kanetsugu smiled warmly. He would tell the young strategist everything he wanted to know, it was the honorable thing to do for the man who saved his life. It had been Lu Xun who found him and treated his wounds. He had brought him to the palace and arranged a place for him to stay. Since then they would always meet to study and discuss what happens in the future. They spent hours talking to each other; in that manner, time seemed to pass so fast…

xxx

Kanetsugu returned to his room with a smile on his face. He had talked with Lu Xun the entire morning and then had lunch together staring at the beautiful view of a peaceful garden. For a moment their hands brushed softly against each other...

"I saw you two together."

Kanetsugu almost jumped in surprise and, for a moment, couldn't see anyone there.

"Over here."

He turned around and saw a man staring at him intently. "I thought you were gone."

"Thought it would be that easy to get rid of me?" Gan Ning smirked.

"What do you want now?"

"That you take those stupid charms away."

"So they're working," Kanetsugu smirked.

"Yeah, for now," Gan Ning frowned slightly, "Until I figure out a way to get past them."

"You can keep trying then," Kanetsugu answered calmly, knowing he was on the winning side of the game.

"I could, but I've never been good at waiting."

"You don't expect me to do anything about it, do you?" Kanetsugu asked.

"You're going to do something about it," Gan Ning insisted.

"Why?"

"Because I can do something to the kid," Gan Ning threatened.

"What..." Kanetsugu gasped in surprise. "Lu Xun? You wouldn't."

"Why not? Because he was my ally? Try again, you know I want to kill Ling Tong and he was my ally too."

"You wouldn't because you're not a bad person," Kanetsugu simply said.

"How do you know? How can you be so sure?" Gan Ning threatened.

"I don't see evil in you."

"You know I killed before."

"And so did I. Sometimes it can't be avoided. If I had a choice I wouldn't have killed anyone," Kanetsugu dared to take a step closer. "Listen, you don't really want to kill Ling Tong, do you?"

Gan Ning turned his head to avoid the man's gaze. "I do."

"Why? From what I heard you were really close together."

"What do you know of Ling Tong and me together?" Gan Ning felt anger for a moment, but as soon as the feeling came, it faded away. "You know, it's boring... this being dead thing. I didn't really think much of it before. I thought I would just disappear or go to some place..."

"Maybe you're not ready to leave this world yet..." Kanetsugu concluded Gan Ning wasn't ready to go to the place where spirits must go when they learned to detach themselves from the living world. "Have you tried talking to some friends?"

"Yeah they all seem very happy and at peace... maybe because they are all together..."

"I see..."

"Take those charms away, I can't even get near him," Gan Ning changed his tone of voice, saying it in an almost pleading manner.

"I don't think it will be easy to convince him, you scared him so much."

"I just wanted to talk to him at first, make him notice me, but he can't hear me, he can't see me... then I realized that if I concentrated I could move things around him at my will, sometimes I can even have an influence on his actions, but still..."

"Have you tried contact with him in dreams?" Kanetsugu suggested.

"In dreams?"

"It's the time when people are most in tune with the spiritual world," Kanetsugu explained.

"In dreams, you say..." Gan Ning pondered upon the suggestion. "Even so, I still can't get near him with those charms..."

"If I convince him to stop carrying them around, will you promise me you won't do him any harm?" Kanetsugu asked seriously.

"Yeah, I promise."

"Can I really take your word for that?" Kanetsugu crossed his arms in front of his chest and arched his eyebrow in question.

"Not only my word, I'm gonna help you with the kid too," Gan Ning smirked.

"I don't know what you're talking about…" Kanetsugu felt heat rise to his face.

Gan Ning stared at the drawings of hearts on the walls. "Man, believe me, you need help..."

xxx

Kanetsugu took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It didn't take long for him to see Ling Tong appearing with a smile on his face.

"Good morning, Ling Tong, I hope I'm not bothering you," Kanetsugu said.

"Not at all, I needed to see you again. Please, come in."

Kanetsugu entered and felt a very peaceful atmosphere in the air.

"Take a seat, and I'll serve you tea."

"Thank you," Kanetsugu smiled and sat. He saw Ling Tong looked much better than the night he came to his room, he didn't look so pale and there wasn't a trace of those dark circles under his eyes, he seemed to be very well.

Ling Tong placed two cups on the table and poured some tea in each of them before he sat. "Those charms you gave me are working so well, now I can sleep and nothing out of the ordinary happened. You don't know how much you helped me," he smiled.

"I'm glad I could help you," Kanetsugu paused for a moment to measure his words, "It was this matter I wanted to talk to you about."

"Ah... what is it?" Ling Tong asked in curiosity.

"I don't think you need them anymore, the charms," Kanetsugu tried to sound reassuring.

Ling Tong blinked in surprise. "I need them."

"No, you don't. You see, it was more of a psychological tool than anything else. Everything is alright now because you gained confidence to avoid the negative energies around you..." Kanetsugu hated to lie, but he tried to convince himself that it was for a greater cause...

"I can't understand."

"You don't need them anymore," Kanetsugu tried to convince Ling Tong.

"Of course I do."

"You won't be able to use them forever," Kanetsugu reasoned.

"Why not?" Ling Tong was very reluctant.

"Because they will lose effect." That wasn't a lie.

"..." Ling Tong seemed troubled.

"You have to learn to live without them."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can."

"But then Gan Ning's spirit will come back to haunt me..." Ling Tong seemed frightened for a moment. He was about to say something, but paused, apparently unsure. The moment of silence was stretched for a small eternity, until Ling Tong, with a troubled expression, finally revealed what was on his mind. "What if he's exorcized? Can we do that?"

Kanetsugu was taken aback by the question. "Well... yes, but it's not that easy."

"Well... let's do it then," Ling Tong seemed to have some of his confidence back. "You're going to help me, aren't you?"

"...Yes," Kanetsugu said with uneasiness.

"Can it be tonight?" Ling Tong inquired.

xxx

"I can't believe you agreed on exorcizing me!" Gan Ning yelled.

"I had no choice," Kanetsugu tried to defend himself.

"Now what? Are you really gonna do this?" Gan Ning asked in exasperation.

"Of course not! We'll make him believe we're doing it," Kanetsugu eyed him seriously. "But please, you can't interfere with his life anymore after it, not when he's awake at least."

"I see..." Gan Ning nodded. "So it's like a play, huh?" He seemed lost in thought for a brief moment, until he smirked, "Alright, sounds fun, let's do it."

xxx

"I need you to remain outside your room until I tell you can enter again; when you do this, however, I want you to come in without the charms," Kanetsugu instructed.

"Can I take one charm with me just to make sure?" Ling Tong asked tentatively.

"Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do..." Ling Tong seemed unsure, but finally agreed, "Oh well, I'll do as you say then..."

"Good. Now wait outside until I call you again." Kanetsugu closed the door and stared around; there were several charms all over the place, so he took one by one until all of them were gone. "Are you there?" he asked.

"Finally I'm able to walk around here again!" Gan Ning appeared in the room.

"Remember what you promised me," Kanetsugu looked at him seriously.

"Ok, I won't kill Ling Tong, I just want to know how this dream thing works."

"I can't explain it."

"Oh wait… I thought you knew how to do it!" Gan Ning said in exasperation.

"Try to concentrate on the task until it works," Kanetsugu said.

"Great, so I have no guarantee it will work…"

"It can be done," Kanetsugu assured.

"You just don't know how exactly…" Gan Ning said sarcastically.

"Will you give up without trying?"

"The hell I am!"

"So I'm going to call him now. Please, don't try anything before he sleeps…" Kanetsugu was still worried, could he really trust that man?

"Alright, alright."

"Ling Tong, you can come in now," Kanetsugu called the man's attention.

"Are you sure?" Ling Tong asked with insecurity.

"Yes, I'm sure," Kanetsugu tried to sound as confident as possible.

Ling Tong sneaked his head inside, before taking a tentative step into his room.

"Don't worry, he's gone."

"Wow that was fast..."

"..." Kanetsugu found no words to comment on that.

"I thought he was a stubborn spirit... Well, I guess I have to thank you once again," Ling Tong smiled.

"You don't need to. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

"Of course," Ling Tong opened the door. "Good night."

"Good night," Kanetsugu stared at him once more before making his way to his room.

"Alone at last," Ling Tong whispered and looked around, everything seemed to be calm. He took a few steps toward the window's direction and saw a big round moon outside. Walking to his table's direction, he reached out for a bottle and poured some wine for himself. He drank it slowly, before putting the small cup back on the table. The officer changed his clothes to sleep and lay on the soft mattress. It should be easy to sleep; the weather was nice, the night was calm, but, somehow, he kept awake until late, staring at some mysterious point in the air…

xxx

A/N: Kanetsugu and Lu Xun was a random thing, I just had the idea out of nowhere and decided to write just for fun xD

Now the first part of the story is practically done and I'll continue with the second part in the next chapter with the things I promised in the beginning.

Oh I posted a Zhao Yun/Yukimura, for the ones who may be interested. It's called "In Times of Fire" and can be found at my profile and in the Warriors Orochi section.

Thank you Nightlore, Scytherageroses and Animelover6000 for the reviews. I would also like to thank you Nightlore, you always amazes me for how fast you are at sending me back my stories xD