ROSE TYLER, NINJA ASSASSIN

Chapter Thirty

"Doctor?" Rose said, knocking on the TARDIS door.

It was several hours after the Doctor gave his life force to the TARDIS and his ship was now at half power. The lights were bright enough that they no longer needed the torches. The Doctor had been looking for a rift they could go through while Donna rested in her room. Rose left with Hattori and Akira to say goodbye to Toshi and spend some time with him.

The Doctor walked over to the door and smiled as he opened it.

"Hullo," he said. "Did you have a nice visit with Toshi?"

"Yes. But there was an alarm raised. The samurai are back in the forest heading this way."

The Doctor's eyes darkened.

"Do they need my help?" he said.

"I don't think so. Half the warriors have gone down to attack them. They know this isn't your battle so they didn't bother coming to ask you."

"But it's no trouble, I can help."

"Doctor, they're fine," Rose said, raising her hand. "The villagers managed to survive before you came here and they'll survive once you've left. There's only ten samurai anyway, they can handle that."

"What about you? Are you ready to go?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes. I will miss Toshi but I think Hattori and me are ready to go with you. This isn't my world and it never has been. I may have been brought up Japanese but I'm not. There was always that gap between me and everyone else. I want to go and see other places now."

"I know how you feel. It's why I left my home world in the first place. I felt out of place among my people as well."

They heard yelling and Rose turned towards the door. She ran outside to see what was going on while the Doctor leaned back against the rim of the console. Rose returned five minutes later with Hattori.

"They killed the samurai, the threat is over," Rose said, coming inside with Hattori. "I know you don't like to hear that."

"No, but I can't control everyone around here," the Doctor said. "I could give them a lecture on why you should leave killing as a last resort but they might run me through. All of this is just a smaller microcosm of what's going on all overJapan. It'll be a couple of centuries before peace comes. I can't change the whole country. But you and Hattori don't have to be a part of that, thankfully. You can leave and broaden your horizons."

"Toshi-sama wants to invite you and Donna-sa…Donna for tea," Hattori said.

"Well, Donna is sleeping, I think, but I'd be more than happy to have tea with Toshi before we go. Lead on, my friends."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The next morning, the Doctor and Donna stood outside the TARDIS with Rose and Hattori while Toshi, Akira and the villagers crowded around them to say goodbye.

"I will miss you deeply," Toshi said. "But you have enriched our lives by being here."

"Not to mention we'll be telling the story of your visit for years and years until it becomes a legend," Akira said.

"Well, you wouldn't be the only ones to do that," the Doctor said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "I have aliens and humans all over the universe who have legends about me. Be careful, eh? A great fighter like yourself needs to take care so your head doesn't end up on a pike."

"Same to you. The universe would suffer a great loss if you and Donna-san died."

"I don't know about me so much…" Donna said then trailed off when the Doctor gave her an amused look. "Yeah, you're right…supertemp," she said.

Toshi hugged the Doctor, Donna and Rose and bowed to Hattori. Hattori returned the bow.

"Well, I think the old girl is charged up and ready to go," the Doctor said. "And we might have an exit point so we better head towards the stars and…"

He groaned when Toshi, Akira and the villagers fell down and prostrated themselves before him.

"Oh bugger, I hate this need to worship me," the Doctor muttered to Donna while she snickered. "Um…thank you. And now, we will say goodbye to all of you and good luck."

Rose and Hattori waved goodbye when the villagers got back up. The Doctor warned them to stand back as his companions got inside the TARDIS. He waved goodbye one more time before getting inside and closing the door. The villagers watched in awe while the TARDIS dematerialized and vanished.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Once the TARDIS landed and powered down, the Doctor opened the door and stuck his head out. He grinned when he saw he was across the Thames from the London Eye. He stepped out and looked up and his grin widened when he saw no zeppelins in the sky.

"I think we're home," the Doctor said as everyone stepped out. "This, Rose and Hattori, is London, England. It's sometime after the year 2000 since the London Eye is here. What d'ya think?"

"This is wonderful," Rose said as he and Hattori looked around.

"Yeah, it's nice but it can be a bit boring at times. I come here so often it feels like a second home. So why don't we do something more exciting. Another planet perhaps?"

"Um…wherever you want to go is fine by me," Rose said.

"Very well," the Doctor said, taking her hand. "Everyone get back inside and we'll get this road on the show!"

He waited until Donna and Hattori got back inside before he gave Rose's hand a squeeze and grinned at her. He kissed the back of her hand and she and the Doctor went inside the TARDIS. He shut the door and a moment later, the TARDIS vanished from view.

THE END.

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