A note to the reader: An itch that needed scratching, this little nugget of writing is something that's been on my mind for a while (as in couple of years). My other work(s) are still in progress—in varying stages—this just happens to be something I needed to get down on paper (word) and out into the world.
In the Shadow of My Memories
Chapter I
Eccentric
"Where to now," he sighed in to a frigid gust of winter win, the tendrils of which ran rampant against his exposed skin dashing daggers and causing him to shrug his shoulders high and pull at the collar of his coat covering the flesh of his neck. His free hand rifled through his pocket, fiddling with a small piece of crumpled paper before steadily unraveling the note to examine the scribbled directions for what could only be counted as the umpteenth time.
"Up this road and take a left," he said to himself as he shouldered his drab green duffel bag, laying it snuggly across the small of his back before he continued to press on, trailing the worn path of roads and sidewalks to his destination. His pace was leisurely yet almost urgent in a deceptive manner as he took his time to drink and breathe in the sights and sounds. Yet he would stop to enjoy neither; with a dogged determination he'd maintained his course stopping only on occasion to look down at the worn piece of paper to make sure he was still headed in the right direction.
And it went on like this for longer then he cared for.
Time passed him by at a lighting paced crawl, an oxymoron mind you, as he found himself enraptured along a rigid line of broken imaged memories. He felt himself on the edge of remembrance; so close yet so far from his mental reach as the unfamiliar roads of a life he was told he once lived passed him by. It was a strangely familiar building here or a conservative hovel there that drew within him a deepening sense of unfounded nostalgia. Eliciting feelings within him yet bringing about nothing of substance in the way of a clue or memory.
He'd become a stranger in a strange land and yet this strange land was home. A cruel fate, it seemed, was the only true constant in his life. The one demon he could neither bury nor escape.
He sighed once more as he brought his hand to his head and slowly began to massage his temples. A terrible habit; he was sure he'd bore dents in the side of his skull by now. "I don't think this is the right way either," he groaned as he took sight of the intersection ahead of him looking to his left and gazing down the crowded road way before slowly turning and staring to his right; looking, hoping, willing himself to think of something, to remember anything.
Yet his persistence was in vain as nothing appeared and nothing came to mind. Neither sound nor picture or even the faintest inkling of a hint as to where he was exactly or where he was going came to him no matter how hard he wished for it to happen…
He could remember nothing…
He plopped down on the nearest bus stop bench, idly tossing his duffel on the ground as he stretched his legs out from under him and leaned back to stare at the cloudless winter sky above him.
"What am I doing here," he sighed as he closed his eyes to gather himself. He opened them after a moment of inner silence, gazing above at the waxen sky above. Cloudless; like a sheet, taut and clean, he eyed the heavens with no small amount of trepidation and hope before closing his eyes once more and sending up a silent plea.
God…if there is a God…send me a sign…a memory…a signal…something…
And then he waited a moment…
And then a minute went by…
Then five more…
Then five turned into ten, and then ten. It was well into the twentieth minute did he finally surrender as his awaited epiphany failed to stage itself. He let loose another sigh, dully noting the presence of another person sitting opposite him on the bench as he contemplated his next move. Had he truly believed that his divine intervention would come he most assuredly have felt the familiar pang of disappoint he'd been feeling…well, for a long time now as a melancholy smile stitched its way across his lips.
"You seem troubled friend," a tender, feminine voice queried next to him startling him enough from his quiet contemplation but not enough so to get him to open his eyes.
He hesitated a moment, as if weighing his option to speak or not. Yet the answer was obvious as he spoke, wishing not to be rude but not at all in the mood for conversation, "More so then I could explain uh…friend," he finished awkwardly as he kept his head lulled back.
Well that was uncomfortable, he mused with an internal chuckle.
A moment of silence passed between them before he finally stood.
"Well then," he responded as he sat up, stretching his arms overhead before letting out a large exhale and turning to look at his bus stop confidant for the first time.
He was rather shocked; sitting next to him was the most elegant woman—he was most sure of—that he'd ever seen in his life. Slightly taller then himself the woman had the most refined beauty he'd ever hope to lay eyes on. Her elegant and angular features were outlined beneath the supple ivory toned skin as her ebon black hair fell in uniform around her, adorning her face and framing her almost ethereal beauty in noble fashion.
Yet perhaps it was beyond that which he saw that caught his attention the most. Her attire, a formal white and red Hakama, was crisp and in order fitted formally on her as was the straw woven Kasa hat on her lapbut aside from her rather peculiar appearance. She was beautiful…stunningly so, he commented internally as time seemed to slow down around him the more he focused on her smiling face. Yet something seemed decidedly…off about her. Strange perhaps rather then off, in a peculiarly good way.
Eccentric…I think would be the best term to describe the residents… His eyes widened before his hands immediately went to his head. Lightning quick he clasped them over his ears to block out the noise of the surrounding world as he dialed himself to focus on the warm intone of that woman…no…
Grandmother he chided gently as he strained to quiet his mind and listen. Images had failed to manifest themselves clearly, leaving behind only the momentary frazzled kaleidoscope of colored memories. He couldn't quite make out pictures, faces, or a definite place for that matter, but the sudden flood of warmth into his person all but made up for the lack of mental imagery as a peace he was sure he'd never felt in all his life had seemingly descended on him out of nowhere.
It wasn't much to go on, but for now…for now this would do as his mind mentally replayed the blurred image and the gentle sound of her caring voice over and over again. He shook his as the tiniest of smiles serenely etched its way onto his lips.
So she was telling the truth…I should have known…no…I think I knew all along…
"…ir…s…ir…si…Sir," a rather desperate voice now penetrated his mind shaking him from his internal reverie. He stepped back as the hustle and bustle of the real world once more came to the forefront of his mind.
He whipped himself around, still half dazed by the sudden intrusion a lost memory into his mind as he took in the sight of the woman on the bench. Not recognizing her at first before the realization dawned on him on where he was and what he'd been doing just prior.
He blushed as he began to scratch the back of his head nervously…
"Are you alright? You seemed to have zoned out there for a second," she asked a slight up tick in her features indicating any sort of concern she may have felt at his sudden lapse out of reality.
"Ah, yes…yes I'm quite well, thank you! I uh…just remembered something I'd forgotten," he smiled as the authoritative yet docile tone of his grandmother's voice came back to him once more…
Eccentric…she seemed to remind as he gave his bus stop confidant a once over, she seems to fit the bill, he surmised, what the hell…
"Actually ma'am, if you don't mind, could I bother you with a question," his sudden lack of self control becoming readily apparent in his hurried speech.
The woman before him smiled serenely nodding as she spoke, "sure! I don't mind, ask away."
He chuckled nervously as his hand once more dug into his pockets, bringing out the scribbled directions and handing it to her. "I'm looking for the Hinata Inn or what was once known as the Inn," he began as she took the handed paper, "but I can't, for the life of me find it even with directions," he chuckled.
"Really now, Hinata Inn you say?"
"Yes ma'am or I believe it's a dormitory of sorts now," he wondered aloud as he held his chin in his hands, his brow furrowing as he began to lose himself once again to his own train of thought, "yes I think she said dormitory now that I think about it."
"That would be correct but it's an all girls dormitory, if I'm not mistaken sir. If I may ask what business you would have there," the woman queried as she stood from her place on the bench. Her face remained as neutral as her voice as she eyed him with a well concealed veil of mistrust.
His eyes drew a bead one the sky as he redirected his sights to them. Their once vibrant shine taking on a glazed hue as the cheer in his smile seemed to switch with the solemn air that now surrounded his person. The woman picked up on the drastic change in character immediately as she listened, "to meet family," his hands shifted in his pockets, "I was also told I was a shareholder on the property deed as well as the manager before." He paused momentarily contemplating his next set of words before speaking again," well before I left if you can believe that."
A rather tense moment of silence began between them the moment he finished. He knelt to grab his bag, sensing that his story, in spite of its truth, seemed to have fallen on deaf ears as he grabbed his duffel.
"Look I'm sorry about the trouble; I know it's probably not the most believable story but I-."
"I'd be glad to help," the woman piped her demeanor brightening to an almost impossible level.
"You…come again," momentarily deafened and stunned by the change in her character he was sure he'd misheard her before…
"I said I'd be glad to help you! In fact my sister is a tenant at the inn," he smiled brightly as she stood up herself, "and your relative is?"
"Ah my Aunt," he replied quickly as he scratched the back of my head, "I believe she ran a tea shop and is acting as my stand in."
"My now, how fortunate it is that we've bumped into each other then," the woman smiled at him holding a hand to her mouth in a demure manner as she laughed lightly.
"Ahaha…yea," he started; the situation had thrown a bit of a wrench into his somber mood as he found the woman's sudden outburst of joy a rather refreshing relief.
"Well then friend, shall we?"
"Uh yes, please lead the way um…Mrs…?"
"Aoyama, Tsuruko Aoyama, she finished as she gave him a sincere smile.
"Aoyama-san," he rolled the name around in his head. It felt familiar and yet….
"And whom may I ask is it that I am traveling with?"
"Ah," he snapped from his mental pondering. "Forgive my rudeness," he apologized as he smiled shyly, "Urashima," he began, "Urashima Keitaro."
"Well then Urashima-san, shall we," she smiled, an infectious trait of hers that mirroed itself on his own visage.
"Lets."
I owe you one God...
a/n:
So chapter 1 finished! Everyone raise your fist in the air and scream "o"! But in all seriousness this work is definitely AU in nature. While events in canon will come into play this story is fictionalized in an AU-verse where I can adapt the story to fit my needs! What's happened? Well you'll just have to wait and see! Chapter lengths probably will vary but they'll be pretty short so don't expect pages and thousands upon thousands of words.
To my Naruto fans (the few that there are) Here am I is still in production and this story does not hinder its progress. C4 will be released in due time. Fear not for its not writer's block or life (to a point) but merely procrastination and editing problems.
I am my own BETA so please dissect with care. This was rushed so expect thorough yet infrequent edits.
-Ark12-