The Forgotten

Chapter 1

By MySilentVoice

…

He watches as the girl stumbles, her body trembling from exhaustion. There's fear too. He can see it clearly. It is written all over her face, and her eyes which were once bright with joy are now dark pools of fear and desperation. Such a lonely girl. His heart aches, for he knows that girl, even if she doesn't even know herself. His hands tremble with sadness as a anguished scream tears from her throat, and she flops to the ground. The very image of a person who has given up completely.

The man can't take it any longer. He runs out into the heavy rain, not caring if he gets soaked to the bone. The girl does not respond when he calls out to her. Calls out her name. A name she has long since forgotten. Sweeping his now wet blonde curls from his face, he heaves a sigh and wraps his arms around the girl. She is unconscious. Then, as carefully as one might pick up an injured bird, he lifts her off the ground, and takes just a moment to study her sleeping face. It is definitely her. Even while asleep, tears stream non-stop from her closed eyes and she opens her mouth, just a little, just enough to utter another's name. And when he hears it, his own tears slide down his cheeks. Slowly, he walks back to the house, nearly breaking down when he hears her repeat that name once more.

"Natsume."

…

The girl wakes up almost two days later, in a bed with fluffy pillows. She jumps slightly when she hears the door creak open and in walks a grown man whom she doesn't know. He smiles at her gently, violet eyes twinkling. She trusts this man, for some reason, and smiles back at him. Just a little.

"You're finally awake." He says as he sets down a tray of food on the bedside table. "Are you feeling alright?"

The girl tries to answer him, but instead a horrible croaking sound comes out and she coughs. The man quickly hands her a cup of hot tea and she eagerly accepts it. The hot, sweet liquid flows down her throat and she coughs once more, drinking a little more before bringing the cup to rest in her lap. "Thank you," she says, her voice still a bit raspy. Then man's face lights up and he claps his hands with joy. "I'm so happy, I finally get to hear your voice again!"

The girl tilts her head slightly in confusion. "Again? What do you mean, 'again'?" The man slaps a hand over his mouth and gives an awkward laugh before pouring her more tea. He smiles as she drinks till the cup is empty. Realizing that his tears are threatening to flow, he rises from his chair and twirls a few times, arms raised. He flashes her a wide grin and holds a hand out to her, the other clutched to his chest. "Where are my manners?" He says, shaking his head slightly. "My name is Narumi and I was the one who rescued you from an untimely death."

The girl tries not to laugh looking at his strange pose. She bows her head slightly. "Thank you for saving me, Narumi-san. My name is…My name…Um…"

Narumi shakes his head furiously and grabs her by the shoulders. "No, no, no. Not Narumi-san, it's Narumi-sensei. Sensei!"

"But shouldn't sensei only be used if you're my teacher?"

"Well, then as of now, I'm your teacher! So call me sensei, okay?"

"Oh, alright then…Sensei. But, um…I don't know my name." The girl says, her body suddenly trembling. "I–I don't know who I am, or where I came from, what I'm doing. I awoke underneath a tree two days ago, and I don't have a single memory of what happened."

Narumi slides back into his seat, and he takes the girl's hands in his. "I'm scared." She says, her voice barely over a whisper. "I don't even know who I am." As the tears begin to fall, Narumi wraps the girl in his arms, hugging her tightly as she cries her heart out. "Don't worry. I'm here for you."

Her sobs become louder and she screams into his chest. He runs a hand up and down her back, as several memories flash in his mind. A group of children. A dead man. A crying girl.

"If you have forgotten who you are, then I'll give you a new name." He suddenly says. "You can start again, Mi."

The girl whimpers and the trembling stops. She raises her head, face streaked with tears. "Mi?"

"Yes, Mi. That's your new name. Do you like it?"

The girl nods slowly, and she repeats it over and over. "Mi. Mi. I'm Mi."

"That's right," Narumi whispers. "It's nice to meet you, Mi-chan."

…

"So I just have to ride the taxi to this place?" Mi holds up a small sheet of paper, an address scrawled onto it. Narumi nods, holding out a small backpack. "I've packed some clothes, money and food inside. In case something happens. But if you arrive at the place safely, you won't need it."Mi nods, carefully folding the slip of paper before slipping it into her pocket. Her hand flies to her hair and she frowns. "Sensei, must I really pretend to be a boy when I get there? This wig is really itchy."

Narumi only smiles. "It's for the best. You see, the people there are not very nice to girls, so it would be better if everyone thinks you're a guy!" Mi gulps slightly, a little nervous about wherever Narumi has decided to send her off to. Nevertheless, she slips the backpack over her shoulders and bows low.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me, Narumi-sensei! Narumi shakes his head, pulling the girl into a bone-crushing hug. "Aw, you're such a good girl. But remember to act as boyish as possible while you're there! Oh, I almost forgot!"

Narumi whips out an envelope out of nowhere and hands it to Mi, who looks at it curiously. "It's a letter," he explains. "When you arrive, give this to a girl named Hotaru Imai. She'll help you." Mi's face scrunches up in confusion. "I thought you said they aren't nice to girls. What's a girl doing there?"

"Now that's a great question!" Narumi laughs nervously, racking his brain for ideas. "Well, there are some girls who don't mind staying there so there'll be quite a few…Oh look, a taxi has arrived! Off you go Mi-chan. I'll see you again soon!"

Mi would be lying if she said he didn't practically kick her out of his house. She watches as the front door slams shut and turns to face the street. It's empty. She could almost imagine the tumbleweeds rolling past. She sighs.

It's going to be a long day.

…

Three buses, a couple unhelpful strangers and a kilometer walk later, Mi arrives at her destination. Try as she might, she just couldn't get a cab. She decides not to complain so much though, seeing as she has found the place. However, she's wondering if she's at the right place. Before her stands a tall metal gate and behind it is a few large buildings. The gate sits between two high brick walls, but she can't seem to see the end of either wall. "Just how big is this place?" She mutters to herself.

Mi glances towards the sky, and realizes its getting dark. Deciding that help would not come if she just stood there, she puts her head between the gate bars and shouts as loud as she can. "Hello? Is anybody there?"

Silence. She tries again. "Hello? I'm hungry and tired and I don't know what this place is but I'd really appreciate it if someone would answer me!"

"Hey, hey, look. A noisy kid is barking away at our gate!" Mi turns toward the sound of the voice, all the way up…there. In the sky. Its a floating kid. She nearly faints.

"Whoa, you're right. Hey, you!" Another voice. She tears her eyes away from the flying…human above her head and sees another boy walking towards her on the other side of the gate. He looks completely relaxed, and is smiling even. A rather odd expression for someone trying to chase away a stranger. He stares at her for awhile, and looks around, confused. "Kitsu!" He shouts. "Get your head out of the clouds and come down here!"

The boy she saw floating in the air earlier flies back down, landing beside his friend. Fly boy looks almost the same as smiley boy, except he's not smiling and his eyes are narrow and slanted. Like a fox. They look at her expectantly. Mi quickly bows, remembering to use a lower voice just before she speaks. "Um, my name is Mi. I'm very sorry to be shouting like a lunatic in front of your gate so late in the evening! Um…I'm a boy!"

The two boys stare at her, one still smiling, the other with narrowed eyes. The smiley one is the first to speak. "Of course you're a boy. What, did you think you were a girl?" And they laugh like it's the funniest thing that's ever happened to them. Which it shouldn't be. Fox-eye, her new name for the slanted eyes one stops laughing first. "So Mi, what are you doing here? Trespassers will be prosecuted."

Mi fumbles for the right words. "Well, actually, this guy named Narumi told me to come here and he says that I should meet a girl named Hotaru Imai." She quickly takes out the letter, holding it up for them to see. "He wanted me to give this to her. He said she could help me."

The two boys aren't laughing anymore. Smiley is still smiling however. No surprise there. But their eyes have turned serious. As if on cue, they turn their backs to her and begin a heated discussion in their softest voices. Mi could still pick up a few words though. Something like, 'unbelievable', 'lady boss', 'freak', 'blonde-headed gay', 'missing' and a few, 'what a catastrophe'.

A minute later, they cleared their throats and turned back to face her. "Alright, Mi-kun. You have permission to enter. Open the gates!" Smiley shouted. The gates slowly creaked open, the sunset's rays bouncing off it's shiny surface. It was quite beautiful. That is, till one of the gates fell off. It landed on the ground with a loud 'thunk'. The boys cringed at the sight as Mi gasped in horror. That thing was not at all small. It was easily the size of a tall tree.

Fox-eye moaned. "Not again! They're gonna be so mad if they find out. They'll immediately assume it was our fault!" Smiley pushed Fox-eye towards the nearest building. "Go get Mochu. It's too heavy for us alone to handle. I'll bring Mi-kun to see the lady boss."

"Roger!" Fox-eye gave him a two-finger salute and sprinted down the pathway. Smiley motioned her inside. "Sorry about that. This place is pretty rundown. Things just haven't been the same since the war." Mi gasped. "War?" Smiley immediately clamped a hand over his mouth, shaking his head. "No, never mind what I said. By the way, my name is Koko! It's a pleasure to meet you."

Koko leads her down the way Fox-eye went and into a huge building. He pushes the heavy door open and motions her to follow him inside. The inside of the building is dark and no lights are switched on. Koko grabs her shoulder and slowly ushers her up a staircase and into an elevator. There are no lights in there either. Koko chuckles slightly. "Sorry about the lack of light in here. It's standard procedure. All strangers are to be taken into headquarters but they aren't allowed to see anything but the interrogation room. And thus, we have to escort them up in total darkness."

Mi nods in understanding. "By the way, what is this place anyway?" Koko pushes her out the elevator and down a narrow corridor. Or at least she thinks its a corridor. Koko snorts. "You came here without knowing what this place is? You sure are strange. I'll let Imai handle the details, for now, just concentrate on not tripping over anything."

At the end of the corridor is a door, a small beam of light from lord knows where trained on it. Koko scans his thumb on a scanner beside the door and opens it. Mi follows him into a room, that, is brightly lit, thankfully. He sits her on a chair in the center and gives her a friendly slap on the back. "Try not to get freaked out by the boss's interrogation methods alright?"

Mi laughs nervously. "Is she that scary?" Koko just laughs at her question and leaves the room, but not before giving her a mischievous wink.

...

Mi sat in the chair Koko planted her in for a good three minutes before deciding she was too nervous to sit. She took the letter out from her pocket and stared at it, trying to figure out the best way to explain her story to this Hotaru person. As she paced about the room in circles, the door clicked open and she froze in her steps, head turned towards the door. Two people walked in, a boy and a girl, both looking rather annoyed. The male was scowling as if his life depended on it, while the girl glared at him like he was her mortal enemy. They didn't even bother looking at her.

"What the hell did you drag me here for, Imai?" The male growled, slamming the door shut behind him. The girl looked over him with her frosty gaze and crossed her arms. "You're on guard duty, Hyuuga." She spat his name out as if disgusted. "As the best fighter we have, it is your duty to accompany me when we do interrogations."

"I'm pretty sure you can damn well take care of yourself. What with those creepy inventions and all." The boy leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, mirroring her stance. "Besides, you could just go get yourself killed for all I care."

"I dare you to repeat that."

"Oh, I dare. And I very well dare walk out of this room and leave you alone with the stranger."

Somehow, Mi sensed that it would be a disaster if she let these two fight any further. "Um, excuse me!" The two turned to glare at her and she nearly regretted doing that. She quickly bowed. "Please pardon the intrusion. My name is Mi and I was sent here by a man named Narumi!"

She straightened her back to find that the two were still staring at her, their eyes widened with shock. The girl began to tremble slightly and she cupped her mouth with both hands, a choked sob escaping her lips. "Mikan?" She whispered. The boy behind her was turning pale, and he stepped forward, arms stretched out towards her. Gone was the scowl and angry eyes. He looked so sad, so hurt, Mi almost wanted to give him a comforting hug. Before he could come any nearer however, The girl raised an arm to the side, blocking his path.

"What are you doing?" He snapped. The girl threw a few ninja stars in his direction and he was pinned to the wall in less than a second. He struggled against the bonds, face contorted with fury. "Let me go! Let me go! Can't you see? It's her! It's Mi–"

Baka! The girl had hit him with something and the boy stopped struggling, looking a little dazed. Mi watched as the girl pocketed a small glove in the shape of…a horse-shoe? She leaned close to the boy and whispered into his ear. Mi couldn't hear what she was saying, but whatever it was, it didn't make him very happy. He stopped resisting however, and the girl plucked the ninja stars off the wall, letting the boy slump to the ground. He drew one knee to his chest and rested an arm on it. he was looking at her direction now, but did not meet her eyes.

The other girl had put away the ninja stars and now faced Mi, her face devoid of any emotion. She stretched out her hand in greeting. "My name is Hotaru Imai. It's a pleasure to meet you…Mi."

…

Hope you liked it! It's a bit of a complicated plot I came up with but I hope you enjoyed reading! I'll update as soon as possible, but till then, reviews are welcomed!

Here's a cookie for you if you read this far. Chocolate-chip. Read the next chapter and maybe you'll get a cupcake! :D

~MySilentVoic