AKIRA'S POV
"*Cough! cough!*"
I started coughing badly in the middle of the night and I had to get out of the room before anyone heard me. I was outside and I spat out more blood than usual. I gasped and wheezed a little and I thought to myself.
'Not good...I'm getting worse...come on body, don't fail on me now...I'm not ready yet...'
Once I've steadied my breathing, I started to make my way back to my room. Once I got back to my room, I collapsed onto my futon and I was completely out of energy.
'I'm getting weaker and weaker every day...this is not good, I wish I knew how far the infection has spread already...oh well, the disease is slowly killing me anyway and I've gotta Aiko and soon before it's too late.'
I thought to myself before closing my eyes and falling into a deep sleep.
THE NEXT DAY...
AIKO'S POV
"Onee-chan? are you feeling all right?"
I asked as I stroked Akira's head and she looked worse than she did yesterday. Akira coughed a little and she looked at me weakly.
"I'm OK...just feeling a bit tired.."
Akira said as I wiped the sweat off her forehead with a damp cloth. Akira slowly sat up and she looked at me.
"Listen, how do you feel about going shopping later, if I'm feeling a bit better?"
"Sounds good to me, Ieyasu said I could take the afternoon off."
"Good, now get going don't you have other things to do other than taking care of me?"
"As a matter of fact I do, but, I'll get someone to check up on you later, don't even think about leaving this bed until I get back."
"Yeah, yeah..."
Akira said before lying back down on the futon and falling asleep instantly. I sweat dropped a little, but, I understood why she fell asleep instantly like that. I left her room, quietly and then Masamune came over to me.
"Hey, how's Akira?"
"She's looking paler than usual and I've noticed that she's been having trouble breathing for the last few nights, Masamune, has she told you anything?"
"No, nothing to me, why?"
"Well, you two seem pretty close I assumed she might have said something."
"If she did, I would have told you, now get going, you've got a set of patients to look at don't you?"
"As a matter of fact, I do, see ya."
I said before leaving Masamune and heading back to Ieyasu.
MASAMUNE'S POV
Once Aiko left, I opened the sliding door to Akira's room and she was wide awake.
"So you pretended to be asleep, how much did you hear?"
"A lot."
Akira said before slowly sitting up. I rushed to her side and I gently laid her back down on the bed.
"Oy, don't try and move."
"Geez, and I thought Aiko made a fuss *cough! cough!*"
Akira started coughing again and then she moved her head away from me so she didn't cough on me. Once her coughing calmed down, she looked at me and she said to me.
"Masamune, last night...I spat out more blood than usual."
My eyes widen and she continued.
"It doesn't take a genius or a doctor to tell me what's going on, my illness has gotten worse, actually, I've known for a while now."
I was shocked when she told me this and then Akira said to me.
"You're right, Aiko needs to know the truth and soon."
"Good, have you got any ideas what to say to her?"
"I've been thinking about it for a while now and I'll just treat her this afternoon and then I'll tell her what happened on that day when I got my results about my illness."
"Sounds like a plan to me, but, seriously though, how are you feeling? you're sweating from head to toe."
"I'm fine, it's just the fevers...they tend to come and go but...they've been getting worse recently."
I placed my hand on her forehead and she was burning up.
"Sheesh, are you sure it's a good idea for you to be out of bed this afternoon? I doubt you can stand up."
"I'll be fine...Aiko and I will take it easy and then we'll come straight back after shopping."
"All right."
I patted Akira's head and she smiled a little.
"Thanks...for being there for me Masamune, I don't know what I would have done without you."
"You don't need to thank me, just get some rest for now."
Akira nodded her head before falling asleep again. I gently stroked her hair while she slept and I thought to myself.
'She looks peaceful...I can't imagine what Aiko is gonna think when she finds out Akira is dying...'
TIME SKIP...
AIKO'S POV
Akira and I got into the market place and I was having fun but, Akira looked a bit weak when we got to another stall.
"Onee-chan? are you all right?"
"I'm OK...don't mind me...just keep browsing..."
I can tell Akira wasn't looking too good but, she was right though, this was her treat so I can't let that go to waste. In the end, I bought a new kimono, a new hairpin and some medical supplies. I looked at Akira and I wanted to get her something as well. I looked at one of the hairpins and one of them has a cherry blossom flower on it with some cute bells.
"Hey Onee-chan, look over here."
Akira looked at me and then I placed the hairpin in her hair and she was surprised when I did this.
"It suits you."
The shopkeeper handed over a hand mirror and I showed Akira what it looked like on her. Akira was surprised by this and she said to me.
"Aiko, you don't have to get this for me."
"Why not? you deserve it, you've been stuck in bed since we got to Azuchi, it's the least I can do."
Akira sighed in defeat and she smiled at me.
"All right, but only this one time, got it?"
"Understood."
I said with a smile and then we continued shopping. Suddenly, Akira started coughing and wheezing and then she fell to her knees. I rushed to her side and I knelt down beside her.
"Onee-chan, are you ok?"
"I'm all right...I think the excitement got to me..."
Akira said as she wheezed a little.
"Onee-chan, there's something really wrong with you and I'm not talking about your TB, is there something you haven't told me about your illness?"
"...No...anyway...let's go and take a break...besides, I could do with something eat right now..."
Akira weakly got onto her feet but, her legs were so wobbly she couldn't stand up. I was about to help her until caught her in their arms. I looked up and it was Sasuke.
"Sasuke!"
"Hey you two, have you been?"
I smiled at him and Akira managed to stand upright but, she still looked really weak.
"Hey, Sasuke...long time no see..."
"It's nice to see you again, Akira, but, you look sickly as you did before."
"Gee thanks for the sympathy..."
Akira sarcastically said before coughing and wheezing.
"We were about to take a break until we bumped into you."
"Mind if I joined you?"
"Be my guest."
I said with a smile. We got to a tea house and Akira only ordered a small meal since she couldn't eat as much as she used to. Sasuke looked at her and then at me.
"How has Akira been?"
"She's been better but, the coughing and the wheezing have gotten worse."
Sasuke looked at Akira and he asked her.
"Akira, is there something else wrong with you?"
"Not you too, Sasuke *cough! cough!*"
Akira coughed a little and then someone called out to Sasuke.
"What's this Sasuke? are you flirting with those women?"
We looked who spoke to him and it was that merchant I've seen a few times before, Yuki, I think his name was.
"Hey, Yuki, what's up?"
"Aiko? what are you doing here and who's this?"
"Oh that's right you haven't met my sister yet, Yuki, this is Akira, Akira this is Yuki."
Akira smiled at him and she said to him.
"Nice to meet you, Yuki *cough! cough!*"
"Yikes, Aiko wasn't kidding when she told me you were sick, are you sure you should be out here in the condition you're in."
"Who are you? my mother, I'm perfectly fine."
I shook my head a little and I said to Yuki.
"See what I mean? I told you she was stubborn."
"You weren't kidding."
Yuki chuckled and then Sasuke whispered to us.
"That's Yukimura, he also works for Kenshin and Shingen."
"I see."
Akira said in a weak tone. Just then, two more men showed up.
"What's going on here? who are these two lovely ladies?"
"Shingen don't start."
A broad-shouldered man and a light blonde man approached us. Sasuke bowed politely to the men and he said to them.
"Lord Shingen, Lord Kenshin, these two ladies are friends of mine, this is Aiko and that's her elder sister, Akira."
"Oh really? Aiko is kinda cute."
Akira glared at Shingen and she said to him.
"Watch it! that's my sister you're talking about *cough! cough!*"
"Onee-chan!"
I shouted before she spat out blood. Akira looked at her hand and then Sasuke said to her.
"I knew it, you shouldn't be wandering around like this."
"Will you shut up? it's no big deal."
Akira said as she wiped her hand with her hankie.
SHINGEN'S POV
I was surprised when Akira started spitting out blood because I knew what she was going through.
"Is your sister all right?"
"No, Onee-chan hasn't been herself since she caught that disease from our late father, since then, she's been well...like this."
Akira sighed annoyingly and she said to us.
"And ever since I told Aiko about my illness, she's been babysitting me and fussing over every little thing that's gone wrong with me."
"That's because I'm worried you."
"For the last time, I'm all right, it's no big deal."
'Says the woman who looks like she's about to collapse at any given moment.'
I thought to myself as I looked at Akira. I sat beside Akira and I said to her.
"Don't be so stubborn, your sister is worried about you."
"Yeah, I know, I don't need you to remind me."
I chuckled and I said to her.
"There's no need to be like that, be happy that you've got family here, cherish while you can otherwise it might go to waste."
AKIRA'S POV
I was surprised when Shingen told me this and I asked him.
"You make it sound like you've experienced a similar situation like mine, are you..?"
Shingen whispered in my ear.
"I may not look it but, like you, I've also got an incurable disease, just make sure you spend as much time with your sister and don't push her away either otherwise you'll regret it later on."
I smiled a little and whispered back.
"Thank you, Shingen."
I smiled at her before patting her head. Aiko looked at us curiously and she asked us.
"What are you two whispering about?"
"Nothing Aiko..."
I said with a small smile on my face and I then said to her.
"Shall we continue with the shopping? We've still got some time on our hands."
"Okay."
Aiko got up onto her feet and then she said her goodbyes to the others. Before I caught up to her, I looked at Sasuke and I said to him.
"Sasuke, when you've got some time, come to my room, there's something I need to discuss with you, it's about my illness and the plan to get back to the future."
Sasuke looked at me surprised and then he nodded his head.
"All right."
"Thank you, see you guys later and it's been a pleasure meeting you too, Lord Kenshin."
I said before catching up with Aiko.
3RD PERSON POV
After Akira left, Kenshin was a little surprised that she would smile at him like that.
"That woman is smiling? Even though she's ill?"
"She's a tough one I'll give that much, I just hope she'll spend as much time with her sister before it's too late."
Yuki was confused by Shingen's words until he realised what he meant.
"You mean she's?!"
"Yes, I don't know how long she's got but, she better make every second count before it's too late."