Update: Forget Me Not was awarded 3rd Place Best Drama by the Feudal Association! A huge heartfelt thanks to everyone who voted! I love you all.
The low throbbing sensation in her skull pulsed dully as she woke. Her vision was blurred at first, adding to the confusion that pounded along with the throbbing in her head. The young girl blinked, trying to make some sense out of the chaotic swirl of colors that her eyesight was showing her. For a few heart-pounding seconds, nothing happened, making her wonder if indeed her sight had been permanently damaged.
To her immense relief, the picture eventually steadied and became normal. However, her relief was short-lived. The surroundings that had materialized were no more familiar to her than they had been before her vision came into focus. All she could see was that she was in a fairly small room with wooden bars on one end and a tiny window set in the opposite wall. The girl would have stood up to see what she could see out of the tiny window, but just sitting up made the pounding in her head ten times worse than before.
For a few seconds, she wondered how she had gotten to this dark and dreary place. Brow furrowing, the girl scanned her memories, searching for the reason behind her imprisonment.
That was when she realized that she couldn't remember anything. Not only could she not recall how she had been captured, she couldn't remember who she was, if she had any friends, where she had come from, her life story-nothing. It was all a big black blank.
"Who...am I?" she whispered, her hands gently touching her cheeks as her eyes widened at the realization of her complete loss of memory. "Who am I?"
The moment the softly uttered words left her lips, the darkness beyond her cell seemed to congeal and solidify. At the same time, a tingle of awareness shot down her spine, causing her to shiver. Whatever had caused the darkness to conglomerate like that wasn't anything nice; in fact, she would say that it was completely evil.
There was a white flash as whoever or whatever was standing in the shadows grinned at her. "So, you're awake, are you?"
The girl shivered at the menacing sound of the whatever-it-was's voice. It was much like hearing the rasp of silk over a steel blade, or the hiss of acid as it dissolved a rock. But it was the edge that the voice contained that made her shiver more violently; it was like frigid steel, giving the rasping voice a menacing tone. It was the voice of a murderer who did anything and everything to get his own way.
'Don't think that,' she chided herself, though the shivers continued to chase each other up and down her spine. 'M-maybe this forgetfulness and...and whatever happened to me is causing me to think things that aren't true.' No matter what she told herself, she could not stop the feeling of fear that descended upon her when the mysterious figure stepped out of the shadows and into the half-light of the tiny window.
His body had a humanoid shape, but his appearance was anything but. The strange person's skin was so pale that it looked almost white in the pale light. His black hair was very thick, reminding the girl of twisted, strangling vines. His armor was very strange; it consisted of bony plates over a blue kimono, and something that looked disturbingly like an eye resting in the middle of his chest. The eyes in his face were a bright, bloody red. Although they were fierce and fiery in color, the stranger's eyes emanated such a cold, emotionless glow that the girl wondered why she wasn't frozen instantly. Those cold red eyes were the eyes of a murderous psychopath.
"Hmm..." The stranger studied her with a politely interested gaze that masked the truly perverted intensity of his evil red eyes...not to mention the obvious satisfaction of his smug smirk. "It's been quite some time since I've seen you...how are you feeling?"
The girl blinked, confused by the stranger's 'concern.' "I...I don't know who you are, and I don't know who I am, and I don't know where this is," she started, not bothering to conceal the fear in her voice. "Please, can you just let me out of this prison? I...I'm not dangerous or insane-nothing that would pose a threat to you. Just let me go, please."
One of the stranger's eyebrows quirked up as he regarded her with an amused look. "You don't remember me?"
She shook her head. "Honestly, I don't."
The stranger's eyes took on a calculating look as he turned away, his head facing something in the shadows, something the frightened girl couldn't see. "Kanna," he called, his voice a satisfied purr. "Come here."
Something moved in the shadows as whatever the stranger had addressed moved toward him. The girl shrank back against the wooden wall of her cell, cringing away from whatever it was.
A tiny girl dressed all in white stepped out of the shadows. Her whiter than white hair was done up with two impossibly white flowers, and her petite hands loosely clutched a shiny mirror. Her eyes were a dark, dull black; blank and emotionless. While the stranger's eyes did reveal his evil intent and his dark satisfaction, this girl's eyes revealed nothing. "Kanna, why don't you show this woman her reflection?" the stranger asked, his voice amused again. The little girl-Kanna, the young woman supposed-turned toward her, the mirror glinting in the light from the small window.
"Look," she whispered. "Look into the mirror." Like her eyes, Kanna's voice was empty, devoid of everything that would make it a human voice.
The prisoner shivered, but obeyed. The mirror creeped her out; she got the feeling that if she looked into the mirror for too long, the mirror would capture her forever. She chided herself for the foolish feeling. 'It's just a mirror,' she told herself. The reflection in the mirror intrigued her, causing her to crawl forwards to see it more clearly.
The girl in the mirror had long, very silky black hair, not like the tangled dreadlocks that the stranger possessed at all. Her eyes were a very pretty chocolate brown color, set in a face that looked sweet and innocent. Her neck was bare of any ornament, but her shoulders were clad in an odd-looking green material. For the first time since she had woken up, she looked down at the clothes she was wearing. They didn't look like the stranger's clothes, or Kanna's clothes. The green and possibly white shirt had once been form-fitting, though it was now hopelessly ragged, and the green skirt was too short for words to describe. Her feet were bare, though something told her that she should have been wearing something to keep them protected.
"I...I look very nice," she mumbled, "but I still don't know who I am." The captive tore her gaze away from the mirror in favor of looking up at the stranger who looked like he was just seconds away from bursting out into laughter. "Tell me, why have you locked me up? I told you, I'm not very harmful-I don't think I'm even that useful!"
"It was for your own good," the stranger murmured, his eyes sparkling with something she could not identify. "I put you in here to keep you safe from those who would otherwise hurt you."
"There...there are people trying to hurt me?" she asked, afraid all over again. Who would want to do that?
"They are evil, wicked youkai," the stranger said, his eyes positively glowing now. "I managed to stave them off long enough to get you to safety, though...at the cost of your memories, I fear."
The girl's brow furrowed as she tried to remember, but nothing came up. "...Who...were these people?" she asked, hesitantly.
The stranger smirked again. "Kanna, why don't you show her?" Kanna gave no sign that she had received the order, but the mirror in her arms suddenly glowed like a white-hot piece of metal. The girl gave a cry and leaped back, only to draw forward again once the glow had stopped.
The picture in the mirror was no longer that of the cell, but rather a slide-show of image after image after image. The girl's mind spun with the rapidity of the scenes, but she managed to catch a glimpse of a woman dressed in black, a tempest of swirling air, another woman dressed like a miko, and a feral looking man with sharp fangs and red eyes. Inwardly, she shuddered. "All of those people desire your destruction," the stranger told her as the mirror reverted back to the reflection of the room. The tone of his voice suggested that he was talking about something mundane, like the weather. "You hold a power that they fear, and the only way they think they can stop you is by destroying you forever."
She blinked up at him, more confused than ever. 'Do I...am I really...strong? But...I can't be! At least, not enough to warrant getting killed...and why is this guy helping me? I guess...I guess he isn't as evil as his looks suggest...'
"Even if there are people out looking for me, I don't think you should keep me here," she murmured. "They...they could come back, or something. I should go into hiding somewhere else...somewhere where they could never find me."
The stranger regarded her with a cool stare. "There is no way that they could find you here, but if it makes you more comfortable..." Here the stranger's mouth quirked into a cold smile. "...I will let you go out on your own. But know this; if you do leave my castle, you will be completely and totally on your own. Here, I will help you regain your strength. Out there..." The stranger let his sentence trail off into space as his red eyes glinted with amusement.
The girl shivered again, but she felt her flimsy resolve strengthen somewhat. 'Appreciate the offer, but I don't think I want you watching over me,' she thought. "I'm sorry," she said politely, "but I don't want to be trapped in this castle. I want to be able to see the sky and walk wherever I want to go...sorry," she apologized again, "but I don't think I can stay here for another minute."
The stranger stared at her for a few silent minutes, his red gaze dissecting her thoroughly. She cringed away, flinching at the intensity of his staring eyes. The white girl at his side didn't show any interest in the tendril-haired man or herself. She just stood there, her eyes completely blank as she stared at nothing and everything. The strange man's face finally broke into a cold smile as he sighed. "Very well; I guess I will guide you to the entrance of the castle. But that will be all; once you pass past the outskirts of my lands, you will be on your own."
Without waiting for her reply, the stranger strode forth and opened the door to her cell. Then he lowered one of his pale hands to her, offering to help her off the ground. She considered for a few moments, then, timidly, she put her small hand into his. She shivered at his touch; his hand was cold, almost like a dead fish, except it wasn't wet. If he was a living thing, then why was he so cold? It puzzled her, but she supposed she had other things to worry about.
As soon as she was off the ground, she let go of his hand. He didn't say anything about her abrupt release; he just turned around and started to walk away. "Wait!" she cried, stumbling forth as she followed her mysterious 'host.' His stride did not change, so she tried to hurry as best she could, though her legs felt like lead weights.
The castle was mostly dark; though there was an occasional torch to light the hall, its light was usually too weak to light much of the place. She found herself stumbling more frantically, eager to escape the castle and see the light again. Finally, the stranger threw open a pair of shoji doors a long time later. Estatic at the sight of the light emanating from beyond the doors, the girl leaped forward, her dirty face breaking out into a smile.
The smile slipped when she saw the world outside. For a few seconds, she wondered if she had walked out in the midst of a wasteland. The sky was an ugly purple color, almost like a strange sort of poison that allowed no light to permeate the castle's barren grounds. The lands of the castle's grounds were scarred, as if a giant creature had lifted its paw and scored the land with its claws. "They were very close," the stranger commented in an offhand sort of way. "They almost got you."
She didn't reply. Her eyes swept over the widespread destruction of the battle she had forgotten. 'How terrible...and these people want to hurt me?'
"Just start walking," the stranger instructed her. "You'll find your way out."
She stumbled forward, her feet protesting at the harsh feel of the land beneath them. Then, a thought came to her, making her turn backward. "Um...what's your name?"
The stranger smirked at her again, his eyes glowing with that strange light once more. "You may call me Naraku."
"Na-ra-ku," she said slowly. 'What a weird name...' "Is there any chance you know my name?"
Naraku gave her a look that was obviously supposed to be filled with regret, but was rather offset by the glint in his eye. "I'm sorry; I only know the people who were chasing you."
She shrugged, then turned around and began to hobble toward the gates of the castle and the wide, strange world that lay beyond them.
As soon as she was out of hearing range, Naraku chuckled.
"This is much better than I could have guessed," he said to himself. Then his eyes landed upon the teetering form of the girl walking slowly away from his castle.
"Let's see how long you survive in this state, Kagome," he chuckled. "How long can you live when you've been reduced to a confused little pup who doesn't even remember where her loyalties lie?"