Dark Ronin - The Woman with No Master

Chapter 2

Jumping up in a pool of sweat, I wiped my forehead frantically and gasped for air. It was 3 in the morning, and trying to go back to sleep was the last thing I wanted to do no matter how exhausted I was. I usually had those dreams since that night; and every time I woke, it felt as if I was a stranded traveler in a steamy desert grasping for life. I hated it and tried to find ways to stop it, but it was like trying to get a rose to bloom on the moon. There were times when I would tried self-induced insomnia. 

"Neera, you okay?" Ryuu spoke from the doorway; by his tone, I could tell he was concerned. "Why ask when you already know," I retorted under my breath nearly loud enough for him to hear. Hiding my emotions was hopeless with him; he always knew what was going through my head. He was a sometimes annoying owl perched in my head; but it wasn't anything we could help because Master Hiyoshi said we were always connected when we were young somehow; thoughts, emotions, dreams, everything was connected. Though I learned later on how to put a block between us so he couldn't go throw my head when I didn't want him to, it's still irritating to deal with. I would think everything that didn't make sense together and think nothing at all. It's actually pretty fun to do sometimes, especially since it always aggravated him. But no matter how annoying it was, I was still happy I had someone to relate to. Ryuu's dad was killed in a war before he was born and his mom gave him up as a baby. With the same teacher, we grew close; "we grew" may not be the right word since I can't remember a time when we wasn't close.

He sat beside me, sinking into my firm bed, with his head on his knees and quietly watched me. After a minutes of pouting, I wrote on a small sticky note that was deserted on the floor:

Study the past if you would define the future.

Retrieving the paper, he wrote:

Confucius. Not always will the past dictate your future, it's what your decisions write. You can never fuse the two scrolls of past and future unless you allow it. The little you have control over, is the judge over your life.

I took the paper and nudged him on the shoulders. "You are so annoying," I declared in a mumble with a weak smile; "You're welcome," he said taking the paper and containing it in our box of conversations. When we didn't feel like talking aloud, we wrote relating poems on pieces of paper then stored them in a small box that sat beside my narrow futon on the floor. "You might not think it, but you are everything to me. When I first saw you, I never saw a rōnin or beast like others but a yõng wàng zhí qián- indomitable spirit. You always put yourself down and never see the potential you have; even after you moronically threw yourself into danger for the sake of others. You have so much strength that you help those who discriminate against you without a second thought. That's one of the many reasons I admire you for. And no matter what, I'll be with you even after the token of time is lost. I swear," he said with a newly serious attitude spreading his face; and I knew it was not a time to argue. Instead I nodded, sighed, and spoke, "I'll leave first." And before he could protest, I left to watch the stars on the balcony.