What's My Name
Chapter One
He wasn't cold anymore.
He felt peaceful.
Nuriko opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings. Everything was pure white.
"Well, that's strange," he mumbled to himself. He looked down on himself and saw that his clothes were back to normal. They were no longer wet, ripped, or bloodied.
What the heck was going on here?
Was he still on top of the mountain?
It was when he was pondering this question that it happened. A red light appeared, starting as a small speck, evolving into a red glow that formed all around him. Nuriko could only stare in awe as The God of Suzaku appeared before him. He quickly got to his feet and bowed to Him.
"Nuriko, you have given up your life for The Suzaku Priestess," The god said as a statement more than a question.
"I was born to protect her. It was my duty and honor," he replied sheepishly, scratching the spot behind his ear. "It's not that big of a deal," he said, chuckling dryly.
"You love Miaka enough to give up your life for her." Again with the statements."Your heart made a wish, Nuriko."
"I-it did?" he stutters.
The God nodded. "Don't you remember? When you were using your last remaining strength to lift up that stone, something was flashing through your mind." The dream flashed through his eyes once again. It was him and Miaka in her world. The real world. They were a couple in the dream. He and Miaka looked happy. They were in love. Everything he wished he could have with the Priestess had come true.
"Oh, yeah. That," he admits, blushing lightly. "Let's just keep that hush hush, huh? Fantastic."
"It shall be granted."
"Wait, huh...what?" Nuriko asks in confusion. "What's granted? Wait! Where are you going?" It useless. The red light vanished and he was left alone in that...place.
Nuriko clothes his eyes to collect his thoughts and figure out what the hell just happened. He opened his eyes and watched as everything vanished and he was suddenly knocked out.
"I, I've been having...unusual...dreams," an unbelievably stunning youth, sitting on the couch mumbled in profound embarrassment. The young man shifted awkwardly on the couch and picked at loose thread on his white long-sleeved, hospital shirt. He avoided looking into his therapist eyes at all costs.
The man sitting on a simple sofa gave the boy a knowing look and grinned at him slightly. "You're a young man," he said kindly. "It's normal for you to have those kinds of dreams."
The youth blushed a deep shade of red and shook his head vehemently in protest. "No! It's not...I mean, that's not I meant." He struggled to explain. "These dreams I'm having, they're not normal."
"Oh?" The middle aged man, sitting across from him sighed in patience. "Can you please tell about those dreams?"
He shook his head, causing his flowing purple hair to fall around his delicate face. "I...I can't."
"It might make you feel better if you talked about them."
"Who says I'm feeling bad?" he quickly asks defensively.
"I'm not hear to judge you. You should know that by now," Dr. Chou said in a genuinely kind voice. he gave the troubled looking young man before him a small reassuring smile.
The young man kept quiet for a moment, before glancing up. "I just...I can't, okay?."
Dr. Chou nodded his head in patience. "And why is it that you can't tell me about them?"
"Because," he said in annoyance. "Because...I...ugh!" The young boy sighed in frustration.
"But they might be important. You might be remembering something."
"I'm not."
The elder man was starting to get impatient now with youth sitting across from. "I'm trying to help you here. Listen to me," said the doctor, in a harder voice than before. "Don't you wanna know who you are? Don't you wanna find out why you were wondering down that alley way, not knowing where you are, or how you got there? Because, if were you, I would wanna know why I don't even remember my own name. Kid, these dreams could be memories. If you would just tell me, I could try to help you. We could find out who you are. We could find your home, your family."
"Yeah, I doubt that," he replied cynically. "Besides, I like it here. Good food." Then he says with a grin, "And that nurse..."
"Please, let me help you."
He gave the concerned adult a small sad smile and said, "But you can't help me, even if I do tell you about those things."
Dr. Chou leaned forward and peered at him over his spectacles. "I can at least try, right?"
"You're not letting this go are you?" The older gentleman shook his head in mild amusement.
"Nope."
"Fine." The beautiful boy looked up at him with glassy eyes and took in a deep breath to steady himself before starting. "The dreams...they're about me. I'm on top of this snowy mountain," he stated slowly, closing his eyes. "I'm bloodied, bruised, and weak. So weak. My clothes are ripped and stained with blood. I think I was...dying. Then a voice, a familiar voice, starts calling out to me, but I can't make out what it's saying. Then everything goes blurry, but-," he cut himself off abruptly.
"But what? Tell me, please."
He hesitates. "But for some reason I see a clear view of someone's face. A girl," he adds the last part in a shy whisper. "She was crying for me, I think. She was screaming this name, but I couldn't make it out.... And then I wake up."
Dr. Chou looked at the boy, curiosity etched into his lined face. "Was this girl in your dream familiar at all? Do you think that she may be part of your past?"
Shaking his head slowly, the lad looked up. "I don't know." He shrugs. "When I wake up, I can't remember what she looks like." He smiles bitterly to himself. "So doc, just when you thought I couldn't get anymore messed up, huh?"
Before Dr. Chou could open his mouth to say something, a ding interrupted them.
"Well, it was nice chatting with you as always, Dr. Chou," he says in a sarcastically cheery voice. "As much as it pains me to do so, I have to go. Looking forward to our next session!" he calls back over his shoulder already half out the the door. "Now where's that nurse..."
Miaka Yuki entered the hospital room, pushing a cart in front of her filled with various items. They ranged from food, which she fought hard not to steal, to medicine, sheets, and other things. The young lady was volunteering as a Candy Striper. They needed to do at least Ten hours of community service for school, which counts as part of their service hours. Miaka's dearbest friend Yui had dragged her here when she could have been watching Sailor Moon, stuffing her face with junk food with Taka.
She set the patient's tray of food on his or hers nightstand and made a move to leave. God, she was starving from all this work. She was halfway through the door when she was stopped.
"Naughty nurse?" a sleepy voice whispered. "Is that you?"
Miaka turned around a let out a shocked gasp. The patient had sat up and was now blinking at her in annoyance.
"Nuriko?"
"What?" he asked in confusion. He frowned at her, before shaking his head. "What are you doing here? Where's my nurse?" He squinted his heavily lashed eyes at her suspiciously.
She didn't answer him and continued to look at him through wide, almost teary eyes.
"Okay, weirdo. What's with the tears?" he said, looking at her like she had grown a unicorn horn. "...Maybe you should be admitted to this hospital too. You seem a little bit crazy to me." He shrugs. "No offen-" he was abruptly caught off when the young girl suddenly ran towards him and threw her arms around him tightly. "Yeah, um, okay..."
"Nuriko," the girl breathed out. Miaka pulled away from the embrace, but didn't let go of him. She brought a hand up between them and brushed a stray lock of his silky hair back. "H-how?"
He looked at her strangely before pulling her hand away from his face. "W-What?," he said pulling away from her touch. "Listen lady, I don't know who you are or who the heck that guy is. I'm sorry," he adds seeing her face fall.
"I-I'm so-sorry," she stutters in sudden embarrassment. Miaka backed away from him. "You just...remind me of so much of this person I used to know. That was stupid of me," she said, tearing up. "It's not even possible..."
"Hey, no don't do that," he pleads. "Don't cry. I'm not mad at you. A little scared, maybe, but I get it. I'm just so gorgeous you couldn't help yourself," he teases her gently. "It's fine. This happens all the time."
He beams at her when she lets out a giggle. "Yeah um, okay," she mumbles shyly.
"So..." he trailed off.
"Can...can I have your toast?" She asks him randomly, her eyes now glued to his food tray.
The young man once again gives her a strange look. "Ah, sure."
He looked on his amusement as the weird girl ran towards the food, and practically inhaled it.
"Mmm, it's so good!"
"Er...not to be rude, I mean I really enjoy your freaky company, but who the heck are you?" he asks, his curiosity suddenly getting the better of him.
"I'm Miaka. I volunteered here today." He nodded in understanding.
"Ah, how nice of you."
"What about you?"
He looked at her in confusion. "What about me?"
"What's your name?"
The young man on the bed hastily looked away from her and directed his attention to his now empty food tray. "You-you ate all my food," he said in surprise, gawking at her.
Miaka let out a sheepish laugh. "Oh, well look at that. Haha."
"How is that even possible?!"
She smiled at him shyly. "I'm kinda in love with food."
"Oh, really? he asks her sarcastically. "I couldn't tell by the way you just practically inhaled my whole meal." He shook his head in amusement when he saw her blush. He smirked when a wicked idea popped into his pretty head. "I think you need to pay me back."
"Oh, well I think I have a couple of coins here," she says, reaching into her skirt pocket.
"I want a kiss."
WHAT?
"Um...er...what?" she blunders. "I uh...WHAT?"
"You heard me. Come here." Despite the protest of her mind, Miaka did come closer to the grinning boy. "I really wanted my naughty nurse to come bring my food today, but you're okay too," he whispers, bringing a hand up to her hot cheek. "Miaka," he mutters. "I kinda like that name."
He brought his face closer and watched as she closed her eyes, and lightly pursed her lips. "You can be my new naughty nurse." He gives her a suggestive grin, making her turn even more red, if that was possible.
They're lips were about to touch when...
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The lavender haired young man burst out into loud laughter. "Oh! You fell for it!" he wheezed out.
"That wasn't funny!" she said, blushing hotly.
"Come on. It was a little funny." He fell back on his bed, gasping for breath. "Oh, that was hilarious."
Miaka froze when suddenly her mind flashed back to that memory.
"Now that I know I don't have a chance with emperor anymore," he cupped her chin delicately. Miaka blushed, but didn't move. Nuriko was soclose to her. She knew what he was doing, he was about to kiss her, but still she did not move. Miaka stared into his beautiful eyes and became even more flushed. Damn it. Why did he have to be so gorgeous?
"...Maybe I should go back to being a boy and start chasing girls instead," he said in deep voice. Miaka's never heard him sound like this before. He gave her a small smile, before closing the gap between them.
They're lips were about to meet when,
"Ahahahaha!" Nuriko backed away from, laughing uncontrollably. "Oh! You fell for it," he taunted teasingly. "Ahahahaha!"
Miaka stared at the boy on the bed, her gave unwavering. That's exactly what Nuriko did to me back at that cave. And they look so much alike. Those eyes...that hair...but it's impossible. Isn't it?
Suddenly his voice broke into her thoughts. "Hey, Miaka," he said gently. "I was just kidding. Come on, don't be mad!"
"I'm not," she replies truthfully. "I just," she gives him a shrug, "you remind me so much of him."
He nods at her. "What, is he like an ex-boyfriend or something?"
"No, he was...someone I really cared deeply for," Miaka mumbles.
The boy smirked at her. "Sounds to me like you were harboring some unrequited feelings for this guy," he teased.
"I-I did not!"
His cocky smirk grew and he was about to reply when a beeping inturrupted him. He watched as Miaka grabbed a small device from her skirt pocket. She shoved the thing back into her skirt and looked back up at him.
"I have to go," she said. She watched as his stunnig face fell and Miaka instatnly felt guilty. "My friend told me she's already waiting in the car for me so..."
"It's fine. You'll come back right?" he asks, hopeful.
"Do you...do you want me to?"
He nods shyly and grins at her. "Well, yeah. I mean if you get pass the weirdness, you're actually not that bad."
"Oh gee, thanks."
"So, will you?"
"...Yes. I will come back."
He gives her a huge grin and she suddenly wants to hug him again. "Good, Naughty nurse."