*I told you'd there'd be more.

~Cause they were totally flooding you with reviews. Right.~

*Here's the first chapter.

Chapter 1

Ikuro Hashizawa sat on the hospital, holding the steaming cup of tea close to his face. The scent was amazing. He felt as though he had been sniffing sea salt all his life. Even without Baoh, he felt as if his senses were enhanced. He supposed being dead for seven years did that to a person. Looking out his window Ikuro watched as cars passed on the highway and boats sailed around the harbor. The captain and his men were kind enough to bring him to land and the man Yama brought him to the hospital. Other than a few minor health issues, most likely caused from his seven years in the water, he was given a clean bill of health. The doctors insisted on having him stay overnight, to ensure that he really was healthy and wasn't going to go through a mental break down.

With a heavy sigh Ikuro thought, As long as no one tries to kill me, I should be fine. His memories were foggy as to what happened to cause him to 'die' for seven years, but he knew that the doctors would commit him to the psyche ward if he told him how he survived. It was something that he still couldn't believe. All that he knew was that Sumire had been in trouble. He needed to find her, but the boy didn't know where to start. With that occupying his mind he burned his tongue on his tea.

Hissing with pain he set the cup aside, looking around for a glass of water when he saw the tall female figure in the doorway.

"Yesh?" he asked with his tongue out. He still looked for water, but kept an eye on the woman as well.

"Ikuro Hashizawa?" she asked. Now the man paused and gave the woman his full attention. She wasn't one of his nurses. That must mean that she knows me somewhere else. A startling thought occurred to him. Is this Sumire? Immediately he began looking for similarities between the two. The woman had dirty blonde hair, just like Sumire did. It curled softly around her face falling around her shoulders. She stood with an air of utter confidence and cool headedness. As if she could face the world down unflinchingly. The woman wore a light blue business suit with a knee length skirt. The cream blouse was unbuttoned at the top two buttons. In her hand was a slim black folder.

It could have been Sumire, but where as Sumire had green eyes this woman had blue. This woman obviously was used to easy living. Ikuro doubted that Sumire would ever submit to a life so lax. Not that she would have a choice if Judas kept chasing her. He just hoped that she was alright.

"Are you Ikuro Hashizawa?" she asked again. Warily, he nodded. Not entirely sure as to what her intentions were he remained on guard. A dazzling smile split her face and she rushed forward to take his hands. "I'm so glad it's you! You have no idea how wonderful it is to see you. My, my! You haven't changed at all!"

Ikuro was taken aback. He wasn't expecting this in the least. As the woman leaned closer, babbling nonsense, he leaned back. He was thrown off as to how he was supposed to react. He wasn't even sure he knew this woman. The lady finally seemed to take note of his discomfort. She went down from her toes and took a step back. But she kept a hold of his hands.

"My apologies, I'm Shiori Kato. I'm a cousin of yours," the woman beamed at him. She almost stood at his height, though he might have an inch or two on her.

"My…. Cousin?" he echoed, dumfounded at the notion. The woman in front of him nodded vigorously.

"Yes, on your mother's side. I heard that they had fished you out of the ocean. At first I didn't pay attention, and then they showed your picture and said you name and I couldn't believe it! After all these years! You're still alive. And you still haven't changed! I can't believe it! Seven years and not a single solitary gray hair," she said the last part teasingly. Ikuro still was in shock, but he was starting to warm up to the idea of having a cousin. The fact that he couldn't remember her didn't surprise him. There were many things that he still couldn't remember before waking up on the train. This second time around he could remember things a little better, but there were many parts in which his mind blurred the memory.

"Why, why are you here?" he asked finally. What would bring his cousin here? Was there another reason?

"Oh, yes that," she muttered sheepishly. "You are dead, according to the law. We need to fix that. Also, there is the matter of the estate. Legally it passed to you when they, uh, passed on. But you died. And now you are back to life. And that needs to get sorted out. The sooner the better."

Ikuro slowly sank back onto the bed. That was a lot to take in. All in one breathe too. Seriously, did she breathe at all when she talked?

"Ikuro? Ikuro, I'm sorry to drop this all on you just as you got back, but it needs to be taken care of. And if we get it done now, then you'll be able to settle back in a lot easier," she rested a hand on his shoulder. The man took a deep shuddering breath. Back on land and he was drowning faster than he did in the sea. He considered what his cousin said. Returning to a normal life as fast as possible would be great. Not to mention, he could hide from Judas. And what if this cousin of his could help him fill the blanks in his memory?

But then there was Sumire. He wanted to find her. See how she was after all these years. Did she think that he died? Had she had anymore encounters with Judas? Or had she been captured?

"Ikuro? Are you okay?" his cousin asked. She knelt in front of him, the worry plain on her face. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have just barged in and berated you with all of this. I'll come back another day. Okay?" she stood to leave and Ikuro caught her hand. With a smile he replied.

"No, no. You're fine. I was just thinking about a few things. I think that it would be great to get started now. My memory is a little patchy. Perhaps you can help be fill it in." The woman beamed down at him.

"I'd love to! As long as you feel alright to go, I can check you out and we can get started. Are you alright to go?" she asked, concern once again flashing across her face. Ikuro smiled at her.

"I'm okay. Actually, I think I'll feel better once I get out of here. I don't have a fondness for hospitals." Shiori's eyebrow quirked up in confusion but she didn't press it. Instead she whirled on her heel and left to talk to the nurses in order to get him released.

Within a couple hours and after a doctor put Ikuro through another check up, Ikuro was released from the hospital. Shiori bounced alongside Ikuro. The man was surprised at this childish behavior from this professional looking woman. It hadn't been at all what he expected. He felt as though Sumire was there possessing the woman with the childlike persona. Perhaps Sumire turned out to be very much like his cousin, cheerful and carefree. He hoped so.

His cousin decided that it would be best to outfit him with new clothes. The hospital didn't have a fine selection and his old clothes had been tattered almost beyond recognition. She dragged him to the nearest clothing store and immediately filled his arms with clothes. Shiori claimed that she only wanted clothes for the trip home. Once there she thought that that would be the time to go do some proper shopping. He felt as if he tried dozens of shirts and pants before his cousin settled with a simple pair of blue jeans and a T shirt with the name of a band he didn't recognize. She brushed aside his questions on it saying that it didn't matter as it was just until they got back to her house.

Shiori all but skipped ahead chattering away as she filled him in on seven years he missed. A lot had happened. He wasn't surprised that his 'death' was glossed over. Judas could hardly come out and say that they were experimenting on people and animals and one of their experiments tried to destroy one of their bases. Judas wasn't even supposed to exist. Whenever Shiori twisted to look at him he smiled. Although he was worried about if Judas found him again, it was nice to have family. Still, he was sure that he could take care of them if they found him. The Baoh parasite would protect him and he would protect his cousin.

The cousins trailed through the city, the female bounding along and the male strolling by quietly.

"Ikuro! This is the train we need," his cousin pointed at the schedule on the ticket box. Confused, he caught up to her and looked at where her finger rested. The train was to be at the station at three. That was another hour of waiting. He sighed. He wanted to get out of the city as soon as possible, but if that was the train they needed then he would have to wait.

"Alright, sir," he directed his attention to the man sitting in the booth. "Is the train expected to be here on time?" The man shuffled a few papers and clacked away on a bulky computer.

"It appears so, young man. You two are lucky. The trains are running on time today. Usually they are a little late." Shiori grinned.

"Great! Then can we have two tickets for the train heading to Tadami, please," she fished in the pocket of her blazer and withdrew a small wad of money. Shiori paid the man and took the tickets from him. His cousin hooked her arm in his and tugged him along. To pass the time Shiori told him about her home.

"It's great living there. I can get almost everything I need in town. There are only a few stores that Tadami doesn't have. In those cases I have to travel to one of the other cities. You'll love living there. My house has plenty of room for the both of us. If you want to live somewhere else eventually that's fine, but for now I think that it would be best if you just stayed with me. Until we get you on your feet," she flashed another smile at him and he returned it. This woman moved so quickly. Ikuro realized that getting used to her rapid nature was going to take some time.

The hour was spent listening to Shiori rattle on and on about nothing in particular. When the train finally pulled up, Ikuro actually welcomed the squealing of brakes since it shut his cousin up. She seized his arm and pulled him along not really giving him a choice of where to go. He followed behind allowing her to take care of everything. Shiori directed the two of them through the cars to find their seats. The car was almost empty. There were four other people in the car. He had expected it to be fuller, but he had enough room to relax now. Not to mention he and Shiori could talk more. Well, Shiori could talk and Ikuro could listen.

It felt as though the moment the two of them sat down the train lurched into motion. Perhaps they really were running late? He wondered about that, but Shiori was talking again and he had to somewhat pay attention to that. She sure talks an awful lot.

*So yeah there will be more of this. And no, Sumire isn't in this yet.

~Why not?~

For those who don't know, Sumire is Violet. Just when I read/watched the series she was referred to as Sumire. That's why her name is different. I apologize.

~Why isn't Sumire here?~

*Sumire will be coming up soon. I hope. I first have to write it. But her entrance will be cool.

~Fine.~

*Moving on, thanks for reading. Let me know what you think in the reviews please. I own nothing of Baoh. It was written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki.

Soul~Skip