ROSE TYLER, NINJA ASSASSIN
Chapter Eleven Rose was at a loss for words. It was one thing to dream about a mysterious stranger but to tell the dream to the stranger was a bit stranger…not to mention nerve-wracking. She felt a bit embarrassed about the dream since she and Toshi had misinterpreted it. However, she was still curious to find out why the man before her had glowed with such a blinding radiance and the thought that the man might be able to explain what the dream meant outweighed any embarrassment she might have so she told him what she had seen while they shared the beef stew. As she talked, she stared at the Doctor. The sun had now set and the only light was the light from the fire and the lantern. Rose was struck by how handsome the Doctor looked in the firelight and how the light from the lantern on the table glowed in his deep brown eyes. She had never had any feelings for any of the ninjas in her village, mainly because none of the ninjas wanted to have a gaijin for a lover. The only love she had ever felt was a daughter's love for Toshi, all other feelings of love and affection she buried deep down in her heart. But as she stared at the Doctor and his face glowing in the lantern light, she suddenly felt the first stirrings of affection for him. Was that what the dream was pointing to? That this man was the stars was the one she was destined to be with? She finished telling the Doctor about the dream and silence fell over the room. The only sound was the crackling of the fire in the pit and Rose suddenly felt a bit uneasy when the Doctor said nothing and just gazed at her, a gaze that held the same unspoken authority she felt in the dream. She suddenly had a desire to lean forward and kiss him, a desire she quickly shoved out of her mind. "Have you ever met anyone like me?" the Doctor finally said. Rose blinked, his voice breaking the spell of his gaze. Even then, it took a moment for her to collect her thoughts. She shook her head. "No, I've never met anyone like you before," she said. "I find it interesting that you had a dream about me when you never met me. The reason I find that interesting is because I've met you before." "Where?" Rose said, shocked. The Doctor gave her a half smile. "There's more to my story. You see, I not only come from another world, I come from another universe." Rose gave him a confused look and he chuckled. "There are thousands, perhaps millions of universes, all lying beside each other. Most of those universes have similarities but there are also huge differences as well. Do you understand?" "Not completely," Rose said. "It's complicated, I realize, for someone who isn't living in a technologically advanced society. But I don't come from this universe; I'm from a universe that's similar to it." Rose nodded, still not completely understanding but she felt like she was getting the gist of what the Doctor was saying. "In that universe that I came from, I knew a Rose Tyler," the Doctor said. "She was your double but unlike you, she was born about 470 years after you were and she was fromEngland. However, in my reality, she never came toJapanand was taken by ninjas. She grew up inEnglandand I met her there when she was 19 years old." "Did she look like me?" "Oh yes, exactly like you," the Doctor said. "And she was brave like you are, although she wasn't quite as trained as you were. Still, she could hold her own in a fight." "Where is she?" Rose said, curious about this other her. The Doctor chuckled and Rose smiled, liking the sound of his laughter. He looked at her and Rose felt like she would drown in his firelit eyes. "Well, she's in yet another universe from mine and yours with a double of me," he said. "Again, it's very complicated." "She traveled with you, like Donna?" "Oh yes," the Doctor murmured, his eyes seeing past her for a moment into his memories, "she traveled with me for some time." His eyes focused back on her and Rose felt her heart leap. "My Rose and I…we were together," he said, gazing at her. Rose felt her heart leap into her throat. "Together? Lovers?" she said. The Doctor nodded. "Yes," he said wistfully, losing himself in the memories again for a moment. Rose thought about her dream. This man loved her but she was not her but the Doctor in the dream told her to come with him and opened his arms to receive her. The Doctor said that his Rose had gone. Was she meant to take her place? "What are you thinking?" the Doctor said softly. "About the dream," Rose said. "Now that I've heard your story, I'm even more confused about what it means." "Yes," the Doctor said. "I never put much stock in dreams. But the fact that you dreamed about me when you've never met me before…it can't be just a coincidence. How long ago did you have this dream?" "I dream it all the time. I know it by heart by now. I told Toshi about it and he's the one that suggested you were a kami since you came from the stars." "I think that's symbolic though. I do come from the stars from your point of view as well as travel the stars." "But what does the bright light mean?" "That I don't know. I don't glow like that and never have. Well, actually I did once but it was a blue glow and I flew across the room but that's a story for another day." "And you told me to come with you," Rose pointed out. The Doctor chuckled and Rose felt her heart leap again. "Well, I told the other Rose to come with me," he said. "I invite people to travel with me and see time and space. That's why Donna's with me right now." "Should I come with you then?" The Doctor gazed at her without saying anything and Rose suddenly felt that aura of power and authority again. "Do you want to?" the Doctor finally said. "Is it dangerous?" "Extremely. But a ninja like you laughs at danger, eh?" "Will I get burned?" The Doctor frowned. "Burned?" "You glowed after you told me to come with you and I held you and the light surrounded me." "And did the dream indicate you got burned?" the Doctor said. "I don't know. I don't think so. I just saw the light come over me. I usually woke up then." "It is dangerous, I won't lie. And some people do end up getting injured and killed when they travel with me. I fight evil and injustice and I try to protect my friends but there are times when I fail and they end up getting burned….in a symbolic sort of way." "And did your Rose get…burned?" She flinched when she saw the pain in his eyes and she quickly stood up. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," she babbled as she started to back away. "It was rude of me to ask that. I'll go now." She started towards the door and was shocked when the Doctor was up and in front of her before she could take two steps. "No, please. You've done nothing wrong. Please don't go," he said. Rose looked into his eyes and was shocked by the tenderness she saw there. Without thinking, she raised her hand to his cheek and laid it there. She was even more shocked when he didn't bat her hand away or get a look of disgust on his face. She only saw longing and desire in his eyes and her heart raced. "I'm very sorry," Rose said. "I offended you." The Doctor gave her a sad smile and Rose was shocked again when he pulled her into an embrace. Rose wrapped her arms around him and listened to his breathing while he held her. She smiled to herself when she realized that she wasn't getting burned by his embrace and she suddenly realized that perhaps the dream was an omen of good things to come.
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