People rushed by the busy streets of Suna as they lived their day to day arbitrary lives. Only a lone redhead noticed a figure staggering on his feet, until he finally fell on the filthy alley floor. He continued walking without sparring another glance at the stranger. This, after all, was a city and no one was unaccustomed to the sight of what he assumed was an alcoholic, who never made it home and instead passed out where he pleased.
O_O…..0_O…..O_o
The throbbing was what finally woke him, not the busy street noises or the occasional dog that came and sniffed at him. He cringed as another wave of pain swept over him. It hurt, so bad. He couldn't concentrate on anything else, but the pain. Finally after a while he willed himself to crack open his eyes, despite the raging protest his head was giving him. Bright light instantly made him regret his decision as he slowly took in his surroundings. He was in an alley. A very dirty alley. He got, much too quickly, up off the disgusting floor. Not a very smart idea, considering the condition of his head. He almost lost his balance, but managed to grab onto a dumpster for support. His vision became blurry and the pain he felt almost tripled in intensity, making him nauseous. He stood there for a while, until the pain subsided into something he could handle.
"Where am I?" The words slipped out of his mouth unexpectedly, surprising him. But now that he was capable of more rational thought, where was he? He was obviously in a city, but knew neither the name of the city nor where he lived. "Live… Where do I live?" Dread began to sink into him.
"Oh my god! Are you ok?" He turned to see a blonde girl coming towards him.
"I… don't know," his head was still pounding and his vision was still a little blurry, "my head hurts, very badly." He felt another wave of pain.
"Of course your head hurts! You're covered in dried blood! What happened to you?" Her loud voice only worsened his pain. "Can you walk? Here just come with me and I'll try to see what I can do for you, or do you want to be taken to the hospital?" She looked at him expectantly waiting for an answer, but all he could do was stare into her worried blue eyes and try to keep his world still. "Woah buddy! Are you going to pass out? Grab onto my shoulder. My apartment is across that street over there." She slung his arm over her small frame and helped him walk.
"Who are you?" He managed to speak as they continued walking.
"I'm Ino and lucky for you I also happen to be a med student here." She looked at him closely. "Seems like you got into some trouble recently." He remained silent. "But, I guess, that isn't any of my business, is it? Or any of theirs, for that matter." She glared at the people who openly stopped to stare at the two. "We're here. Let me just open the door, I don't think my room mate is here yet." She helped him lean on the wall as she fiddled around her purse looking for her keys. She walked him into a small apartment. It was littered with books and papers, but otherwise decently clean. "Sorry didn't expect company." She smiled at him.
"S' okay I didn't expect to wake up in an alleyway today." He winced as she helped him sit on a nearby couch. "Can I pass out now?"
"You might have a concussion. We need to try and keep you awa-" He had already passed out again. "Hey!… Wake up damn it!"
O_O…..0_O…..O_o
This had been such a weird day- scratch that it had been a weird two days. Because for two whole days, a perfect stranger had been passed out in my room. I don't really mind having to sleep on the couch or anything, it's just that, I don't know what to do with him. Should I take him to the hospital? Something tells me I should, but when I think back to how he looked all alone and confused, I don't think he'd appreciate being taken to one. I'm sure he's fine now; it's more of a precautionary thing.
"You looked troubled." My room mate sat down on the couch beside me. "You know you haven't gone to classes for two days right?" Shikamaru, my childhood friend and room mate, looked at me pointedly.
"Well what do you want me to do? Leave him here alone or something?" His eyes narrowed a bit and I narrowed my own, accepting the challenge.
"Fine, whatever, but for a med student skipping classes isn't a very smart choice." He dropped the argument and turned on the T.V.
"Argh! You skip class all of the time!" I finally had enough (not that it took much) and hit him over the head.
"Che… That's because I'm smart you obnoxious woman." He rubbed his head and inched a little away from me. I got up, finally deciding he wasn't any help. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to get some stuff from the grocery store, since you can't be bothered!" I turned to glare at him. "Take care of him until I come back!" I pointed towards my room.
"Do you even know his name?" He raised an eyebrow at me questioningly.
"…No I don't." He sighed. "Just watch him, I'll be right back."
"You're so troublesome." He turned to stare at the T.V again.
O_O…..0_O…..O_o
Again I felt myself awakening. Fortunately this time around my head didn't feel like it was about to blow up. I opened my eyes noticing I was in a bed. A muffled noise could be heard from outside the room, maybe a T.V.? I gently got up and walked towards the door. I could faintly remember being helped by a blonde girl. She had told me her name was Ino and was a med student here. I found my shoes and sweater, which had been thankfully washed. I slowly walked out of the room to see a guy with dark hair asleep on the couch. This guy I certainly didn't remember, but there was plenty I didn't remember. I saw what appeared to be the entrance and left, making sure not to wake up the other man.
Outside the air was fresh, but certainly not cold. It wasn't late, maybe around seven. I continued walking down the street, looking around aimlessly. I wonder what people thought as they passed by starring at me weirdly. Was there something on my face? I continued to walk and soon found out that, yes, there was something on my face and head. Using the reflection of a store window I was able to see bandages covering most of my head, with only little spaces where my blonde hair snuck out. I could also see six scars adorning my face, three on each cheek. This was odd. Although, I didn't remember anything, I still had a rough idea of what I looked like, but I didn't remember these scars. Were they new perhaps? I got closer to the window and saw that they weren't new, but actually looked a couple of years old.
I continued to walk further down the street, not really caring where I was going. This indeed was strange. I should feel scared, panicked, and maybe even angry that I couldn't even remember my name, but instead I felt nothing. I guess, I could call it numb? Who am I? Where am I? These questions didn't seem important to me right now, when they probably should. This is strange, very strange indeed.
I felt someone glaring at me. I looked up to see someone with a very strange color of sea foam eyes and realized that while I had been pondering my apparent apathy, I'd bumped into him.
"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." I looked away from him and was about to continue aimlessly getting lost, when I saw them. They were two normal looking men that were staring right at me. I doubled over clutching at my head. I remembered them, well I remember running away from them. Apparently it was taking my head quite an effort to remember them, because suddenly I had a terrible headache.
"Are you okay?" The stranger seemed to have held me to prevent my fall. His voice sounded apathetic and a little harsh. I shook my head 'no' and pointed towards the two men who were trying to inconspicuously make their way towards us. "Who are they?"
"I don't know. I just know at some point I was running away from them a couple nights ago." He raised an eyebrow at me. They were getting closer. "Please just believe me." I practically begged. He stared at me seeming to try and make a decision.
"Well, where do I take you?"
"…Umm I don't know."
"You're serious aren't you." He helped me get up. The pain seemed to begin subsiding. "What's your name?" He asked already knowing the answer.
"I can't remember." He shook his head once and looked over at the two who were getting even closer.
"Can you run?"
"Maybe, …probably." He grabbed my hand and took off on a sprint. "Not that fast!" He looked back at me.
"They're right after us, just keep going." I nodded as I pushed myself to continue moving my legs. Normally I don't think I would've had a problem, but I don't remember the last time I ate anything, not to mention the whole head injury thing. "I live around here." The stranger said between breaths. "We're almost there." He added seeing me struggle to keep up.
"Are… we… there yet?" I could practically feel my body slowly beginning to shut down. It seemed that no matter how much air got into my lungs, it still wasn't enough. I felt like a vacuum. He nodded and finally after having run down several streets stopped at the stoop of a brick house. He quickly opened the door, yanking me inside and slamming it shut in one fluid movement. I slid down to the floor finally giving in to my body's limitations. A small click let me know he'd locked the door and he too slid down, sitting by me. For a while we both sat there trying to catch our breath.
"How long has it been since you can't remember?" He looked at me without much expression, but I could tell he was honestly curious.
"… I'm not exactly sure." His eyebrows furrowed just the slightest bit. "What I mean is, I woke up a couple of days ago in an alleyway, apparently covered in dried blood."
"In an… alleyway?" He looked away from me, seeming to be remembering something.
"Yeah, it was filthy but fortunately I was helped by a med student. She took me to her house and bandaged me up. I think she may have even given me some pain killers." I frowned. "I probably should've thanked her, but I wasn't feeling like myself when I left her house some days later."
"You don't know how long you spent in her house?" He looked at me skeptically.
"Well as soon as I entered her house I basically passed out!" I felt a familiar urge to assure him I wasn't a complete moron. "But when I woke up for the second time, I felt like I had been asleep for a while, certainly more than a day, but probably less than a week." He nodded his head seemingly understanding.
"Why were those men following us?" His monotone voice seemed uninterested, but something in me could see through it, like if I'd dealt with stoic people before or something. Strange indeed.
"I'm not completely sure, just that I remember running away from them before. I also remember feeling scared and desperate at the time, but otherwise it's still kind of fuzzy for me." I scratched my cheek a little sheepishly. "I'm curious though… Why did you help me?" His eyes met mine. "I mean I'm really grateful, but I don't think many others would have believed me."
"I can tell by looking in your eyes that you're nothing but honest. Also I'd easily recognize someone who really lost their memories from someone who didn't." His eyes darkened considerably.
"How?" He looked away avoiding my gaze.
"From experience." His eyes met mine again, all emotions stored away. "Also, I'd seen those men, along with a few others, that had been hanging around here recently. They've been known to be dealing in some pretty shady stuff." My eyes widened.
"What kind of… stuff?"
"Organ trade is what I've heard."
"HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!" I lifted my shirt frantically. "DO I HAVE ANY SCARS!" I squirmed around trying to make sure there was no unnatural looking scar in my otherwise smooth skin.
"Calm down, there's nothing on your skin. You seem fine. Think about it rationally if they had taken anything from you they'd probably be done with you, right?" I stopped my frantic search and nodded. "The fact that they chased after you is probably because you still have your liver." It seemed his cold voice helped me calm down.
"You're right… sorry what's your name?"
"Gaara," He stood up from our spot in front of the door. I finally looked around to see a pretty spacious looking house. It was kind of dark and a little messy. Gaara disappeared behind a corner, his hand waved a quiet request for me to follow him. He led me into an ordinary looking kitchen. "Are you hungry?" He wasn't facing me, already looking in the fridge for something to eat. I nearly punched myself in the stomach when it answered for itself.
"Haha… I guess I am." I sheepishly tugged at the bandages on the back of my head. He smirked slightly. I felt a twinge go through my core and I felt pressure on my head. It wasn't painful and didn't last long, but for a second I felt like maybe I was going to remember something. It quickly went away, but something must've shone on my face, because Gaara had noticed. He simply looked at me waiting to see what would happen. I shrugged and he returned to what he was doing previously.
"What do I call you?" I looked up to him as he began reheating what looked like leftovers. "This is my sister's cooking not mine." He answered my unasked question.
"Umm…" I looked down at my hands. What should I be called? I obviously don't remember my own name, so does it even matter?
"Kitsune," I looked up at him startled. "It's Japanese for fox."
"Why a fox?" I continued to look at him curiously. Why would I be named after a fox? That certainly didn't make any sense.
"The scars on your face remind me of one." I felt myself touching the odd scars. "That way Kitsune will remain more of a… pet name of sorts, rather than giving you a new name altogether." I gave him a small smile.
"Do you think I'll ever remember?" I felt a stone slowly sink into my stomach. It finally dawned on me. I don't know who I am. I could finally understand my situation a little better. I mean, how depressing is it not having even a name? How depressing is it to suddenly not have anyone? I felt my hands begin to shake, so I clenched them. Who am I? That question seemed to be on repeat in my head. Now I desperately wish I still felt numb. The moisture on my face seemed to come from nowhere, along with the arms that held me in an awkward yet comforting hug.
"You'll remember if that's what's best for you. If not you simply continue living and create new memories." His voice was firm. He pat my head like one would a puppy and distanced himself so he could continue reheating our food. It hadn't lasted long, just a moment, but I felt a little less alone.
"Thank you, Gaara."
New story (well not so new)! For any of you who might remember this isn't the first time I post this, but since the first time around I guess I sort of rushed and ended up writing something I wasn't entirely happy with, I fixed some stuffs and reposted =O! 'Neways, I hope you liked it, if not well that sucks I'm sorry U_U I think I'll decide whether I want to continue this story if I see anyone willing to follow and read, cause I'maa supaa busy (and already have another story going, which I'll update soon... hopefully)!
~punk thanks you for reading her shit today!
