And here we are with Chapter 2! I'm glad this story got such a warm reception right off the go. It's modest, but it's not as though I've got much of a reputation in this particular fandom right now. Of course, the advantage of having so many chapters written in advance is that I can post much more frequently. And now...a brief disclaimer:
Disclaimer: The author does not claim any background in psychology or other fields related to the subject of amnesia. The author has also not done any independent research, save for a cursory reading of the wikipedia page on the subject. The pretense of realism shall be subordinate to the importance and convenience of the plot. Any attempts to point this out shall be met with an indifferent shrug and a non-committal "Eh..." You have been warned.
Chapter 2:
Ruby was breathing, but it didn't seem to be helping her. Her lungs were drawing in air, yet she still felt as though she was being suffocated. As she worked out what was going on, she became more and more aware of what was missing. Her memories were like a tattered piece of clothing, more holes and tears than actual cloth. She was only able to recall enough to realize just how much she was missing, which only made her feel even more panicked.
"Stop." Gin's stern voice cut through the haze of fear that was swamping her consciousness, his tone carrying an air of authority that made her thought process suddenly grind to a halt.
"That's enough," continued Gin. Now Ruby felt a cool hand resting on her forehead, the familiar touch that had calmed and reassured her when she had been in pain and barely clinging to life. It reassured her now too. More than Gin's voice, that gentle contact eased her anxiety, which allowed her to bring her breathing and heart under control.
"But I can't remember," she protested, trying to lift her head.
"Worry about remembering later," said Gin firmly, gently pressing her back down with the hand on her forehead. As weak as she was, he didn't need to exert much pressure at all. "Right now, rest."
"I agree," said Ayumu. "It's clear that the effort is causing you quite a bit of distress. If you keep this up, you could wind up aggravating your injuries." He reached down to adjust the blanket, which had been knocked askew by Ruby's panic. "When you're healed, then we can worry about what you can and can't remember."
"But…" Ruby protested weakly.
"It's all right," said Ayumu. "We're here for you. You're safe."
"Rest," repeated Gin, keeping his hand on Ruby's forehead.
Ruby wanted to protest, but Gin and Ayumu's reassurances, along with the comforting feeling of Gin's cool hand on her forehead drained her resistance. Gradually, Ruby's eyes closed and her breathing slowed and evened out. The last thing she remembered as her consciousness faded away was the feeling of the blissfully cool skin of Gin's hand on her forehead.
Gin kept his hand where it was until he was assured that Ruby had fallen asleep. Carefully, he moved it upward to brush through her bangs. "What do you think?" he asked, looking over at Ayumu.
Ayumu hummed softly to himself. "I'm not sure. We didn't see any signs that she suffered any kind of head injury. But that doesn't necessarily mean that she didn't. Perhaps we just didn't see it. Or…"
"Or what?" pressed Gin as Ayumu's voice trailed off.
"Or perhaps the issues of her memory are the result of some kind of emotional trauma," suggested Ayumu. "I've read a little about things like that. Apparently, an event is so traumatic that the person who suffered it chooses to suppress their memory."
"Could that be it?" wondered Gin. "From the sound of things, she lost a whole lot more than memories of just a single event. She's forgotten her own identity, to the point that she almost wasn't able to remember her own name."
Ayumu shrugged. "I don't know what to say. It's not as though I've studied those sorts of things. I'd be the last person to call myself an expert in this area."
"True," agreed Gin. "I don't have any insight to offer either."
"In any case, the best plan is to go with what we decided earlier, ensure that her physical injuries are healed first, then we can work on dealing with what she does and doesn't remember," said Ayumu.
"Works for me," said Gin. Standing up, he stretched, then yawned. "In that case, we should get dinner ready."
"Of course," said Ayumu. "Would you do me a favor and catch us something? I would not be adverse to a few herbs either."
"Right," said Gin. "Give me a couple of hours."
"I think we'll have time," said Ayumu, turning his eyes back to Ruby.
Gin nodded and took his leave. Ayumu watched over Ruby, frowning contemplatively as he stared at her. He thought back over what had happened when they'd found her, her situation and her injuries. She was on top of the cliff, but was knocked off at some point. She fell and lost consciousness. We found her before the Grimm could take advantage of that…But…
His eyes moved over the blanket, tracing the areas where he knew she'd been injured. Those cuts and punctures were inconsistent with teeth and claw marks. I'm not sure that a Grimm made those wounds.
Ruby awakened to the sound of her stomach growling. With a groan, she began to sit up, stretching her arms over her head, as her blanket fell away from her body. She winced at the pulling sensation of bandages against her bare skin, as well as sharp twinges of pain from her wounds.
"Um…Ms. Ruby…"
Ayumu's voice made her gasp in surprise and, more importantly, remember her situation. In the process of sitting up, she'd let the blanket that covered her mostly-naked body fall down, exposing herself to her two caretakers. Her breasts were partially covered by bandages, but that didn't exactly help her embarrassment as Ruby squeaked, quickly laying back down and pulling her blanket back over herself, her cheeks flushing pure red.
Ayumu and Gin had both quickly looked away when she'd begun to sit up. Now that she was covered again, they were able to turn their eyes towards her. Ruby noticed the pink dusting their own cheeks, and found herself grateful that she wasn't the only one feeling the awkwardness of their situation.
"Well, you seem to certainly be feeling better," noting Ayumu wryly as he stood up. "I'll get your blouse for you. That way you'll at least be able to sit up while you're eating."
Ruby nodded and Ayumu went to the back of the cave to fetch the garment. "I'm afraid we haven't had the chance to clean it yet," he said. "We can take care of that later though."
He handed Ruby her blouse, both Gin and Ayumu averting their eyes while Ruby sat up to slip her top on. Now that her upper body was covered, she was able to sit up as Ayumu and Gin finished their dinner preparations.
A skin or hide of some kind hung suspended from pieces of wood over a fire. Ruby guessed they were using that in place of a regular pot. Inside the hide, she could see a bubbling broth of some kind, the surface disturbed by the occasional piece of meat rising to the top, as well as several pieces of various vegetables and herbs drifting around the infusion. The smell rising from it made her stomach growl even louder.
Taking the same metal mug that had been used to serve her water earlier, Ayumu dipped it down into the stew, filling the mug with the broth, but being careful not to allow any of the chunks of meat into it. "We'll start light," he said as he handed the mug to her. "Considering your injuries, your stomach may not be up to solid food yet."
Ruby nodded, accepting the mug gratefully and putting it up to her lips. The broth was warm, but not too hot. It was somewhat thin and watery, but the flavor was rich, and she hummed with pleasure as it slid over her tongue and down her throat. Her hands shook a little, her arms feeling a little on the weak side. But, all in all, Ruby was both surprised and pleased to find that she hadn't completely lost her manual dexterity.
"Any pain or discomfort swallowing?" Ayumu asked as Ruby lowered the mug from her lips.
"No," said Ruby. "I feel great."
"Would you like some more?" inquired Gin.
"Yes, thank you," said Ruby unable to completely hide her eagerness as she handed the mug back. She made a bit more of an effort to hide her disappointment as Ayumu once again filled the mug only with the broth, trying not to think about how much she would have liked some of those hunks of meat floating around inside it.
"Try and finish this," said Ayumu, handing the mug over to her. "After that, we'll wait a few minutes to see how your stomach reacts. If there aren't any problems, then I think you can handle the solids as well."
"Okay," said Ruby, taking the mug once again and sipping it down. It took some restraint to keep from chugging it straight down so that she could hurry to the more solid stuff. Once she finished, she lowered the cup with a happy sigh. The thin liquid was already beginning to pool in her stomach, certainly taking the edge off the hunger, albeit not completely sating it.
Turning her attention back to her caretakers, Ruby blushed when she saw that Ayumu was watching her intently, while Gin was making a point of keeping his eyes fixed on the stew, stirring it slowly. "Um…uh…"
"Sorry," said Ayumu, blinking, apparently only just realizing that he'd been staring.
"It's…okay," said Ruby. It was hard to really put into words how she understood it, but she realized that there was nothing about Ayumu's gaze that had made her particularly uncomfortable. All she could sense from him was a sincere concern for her wellbeing and he was watching her for even the smallest signs of pain or discomfort.
"May I…?" asked Ayumu, lifting his hand and holding two fingers up towards her forehead.
Ruby nodded wordlessly, but not feeling at all threatened by the gesture, particularly because Ayumu usually made it a point to get her permission, spoken or otherwise, before touching her in any way. Gin was a bit more forward about touching her without asking her first, but he'd never done so in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. Instead, she found herself wondering what Ayumu was looking for.
Ayumu's fingers gently pressed against her forehead. From there, Ruby couldn't see them, but she caught a flicker of pale green in her peripheral vision. A second later, she felt her body heat up slightly. The sensation passed in just a few seconds, leaving her wondering what Ayumu had just done.
"Your Aura is recovering nicely," noted Ayumu, withdrawing his fingers and sitting back. "That should accelerate the healing process, and you'll be fit to travel in a couple more days."
"Aura…" said Ruby, rolling the word around with her tongue, pondering it. I…I know what that means. Aura is the manifestation of my soul. It protects my body, and I use it to fight…fight…fight the Grimm.
"Are you all right?" asked Ayumu, canting his head as he regarded her.
"I just…" Ruby shuddered. "It's weird. I know what Aura is. But I can't remember why."
"Memory is a tricky thing," said Ayumu. "If I remember correctly, there are actually different kinds of memory that function differently from one another. But I never studied the topic all that deeply, so that I can't tell you what they are. But I think that facts and knowledge are supposed to be separate from your memories of experiences or people, which…if I'm guessing correctly…seem to be the ones you are missing."
"Okay," said Ruby, frowning, her forehead creasing.
"Ah," said Ayumu quickly, raising a finger in front of her, causing her eyes to focus on it. "Remember, you need to get better first. Then we can start worrying about what you've forgotten."
"Are you sure it'll be okay?" asked Ruby.
"Fairly," said Ayumu.
"Whereas we know it will not be okay if you reopen your wounds by fretting too much," added Gin brusquely.
"All right," said Ruby. Then she frowned, noting something strange.
"Is something wrong?" asked Ayumu.
"Not…wrong…really," said Ruby. "But I was wondering…well…why you're doing all this for me."
Ayumu blinked, then looked over at Gin, who shrugged. "Um…well…I don't think we ever thought too much about why. The best I can say is we didn't see any reason not to."
"We were on our way to Brandywine," said Gin. "But we don't have any pressing business there."
"So…you helped me because you…didn't have anything better to do?" ventured Ruby.
"That's one way to put it, I suppose," said Gin with a shrug. "To be honest, we haven't given any real thought to the question of 'Why?' We just did."
"Oh." Ruby blinked, trying to process it. These two boys had gone to a great deal of trouble on her behalf, without being asked, taking care of her wounds and treating her with the greatest consideration…all without any apparent reason. In its own way, it was even more reassuring than if they had given her some speech about duty to help the helpless.
She fell silent for a little while, watching as Gin tended the fire and stirred the stew. The aroma filled the cave and, soon, Ruby's stomach was growling demandingly.
Ayumu chuckled. "Well, I think we've kept you waiting long enough. How do you feel?"
"Hungry," said Ruby, a little more eagerly than she intended.
"Good," said Ayumu, taking the mug and filling again. This time, Ruby's mouth watered as she saw chunks of meat and vegetables mixing with the broth as well. Ayumu produced a spoon and handed both it and the mug to her.
Accepting them, Ruby dug in with a gusto, though Ayumu had to remind her to eat slowly so she didn't upset her stomach (or choke herself). Despite the fact that it was rather simple, when all was said and done, she had the feeling that it was the best meal that she'd had in a long while. She couldn't remember what her previous meals had been like. But this one seemed particularly good for some reason. Perhaps it was because it was her first meal after her brush with death earlier.
In the end, she wound up draining a second mug of stew, before falling back with a burp, that made Ayumu, and even Gin, chuckle. Her stomach full, Ruby felt content. It was strange, but the feeling of relief that followed having her hunger sated eased away even the tension that came from thinking about her memory loss.
"Feeling better?" asked Ayumu.
"Yeah," said Ruby drowsily. Her full stomach was making her sleepy.
"Before you go back to sleep, use this," said Ayumu.
"Huh?" Sitting up, Ruby was surprised to see Ayumu handing her a thin, short twig. The bark was peeled back about an inch away from the tip. "What's this?"
"It's what we use in place of a toothbrush," said Gin. "The saps and extracts of certain trees are good for your teeth. Chew on the end until it softens into something like bristles, then brush your teeth with it."
"Really?" said Ruby, staring in amazement at the twig. Doing as she was bid, she took it and chewed on the exposed end until she felt the plant fibers separating into something like toothbrush bristles, then began to scrub it across her teeth. After a few minutes, she was done and handed it back to Ayumu.
"I'll take care of it for now," he said. "But, in the future, you just rinse it off and allow it to dry before storing. You'll be able to use it multiple times in the future and, when the bristles wear out, just trim them off and remove the bark further up."
"Oh," said Ruby, fascinated by the idea. Somehow, she knew it had never occurred to her that she could create hygiene products from nature like this. However, such consideration would have to wait. Her eyelids began to get heavy and she laid down. She was barely conscious of someone pulling the blanket up over her shoulders before sleep claimed her.
Ayumu smiled as he watched Gin gently tuck Ruby in. They had yet to eat, preoccupied with their concern for their charge. Now that Ruby was asleep, Gin and Ayumu filled their own mugs and took their time with their meal.
"What's the plan?" asked Gin, in between bites of the stew.
"Once she's well enough to travel, we'll continue on to Brandywine," said Ayumu. "It's the closest settlement after all. It should only be about five-days' walk."
"That's going by our pace," Gin pointed out. "Even once her injuries have healed, she won't be able to travel very far in one go."
"We can carry her if we need to," said Ayumu. "But you're right about it taking longer." He shrugged indifferently. "Oh well. We're not in any hurry, and walking will be a good way to help her recuperate. We'll just go at her pace until we get there."
"Works for me," said Gin. "And, when we get there, what then?"
"We'll try to use the CCT to contact Vale," said Ayumu. "Assuming that's where she's from, then, presumably, there must be someone there missing her. Hopefully her name will match up and we'll be able to arrange for someone to pick her up." He glanced at a small pile of wrecked electronics set to one side of the cave.
"Sounds like a plan," said Gin. "But how are we going to use the CCT? We don't have any money for the call."
"I'm assuming that the administrators can make an exception for an emergency situation," said Ayumu. "Reporting a missing person found probably falls under that."
"Well…I guess we'll just have to find out when we get there," said Gin, leaning back.
"Indeed," said Ayumu. "How long before we set out, you think?"
Gin frowned. "Well, like you said, a couple more days before her wounds finish healing. Then maybe a couple more to just get her active again. Then we can set out."
Ayumu nodded. "We'll also have to tell her about that," he tilted his head towards the pile of metal pieces they'd collected.
"Yeah…that should wait until she's recovered," said Gin. "I get the feeling that seeing it isn't going to make her very happy."
"It might jar her memory though," said Ayumu.
"It might," agreed Gin. "But, just as you said, if the reason for her issues now is because of some kind of emotional trauma, it's not a can of worms we want to open right now. You saw how she got when she tried to remember something."
"Very true," said Ayumu.
"For now, let's not cause her any undue stress," said Gin. "We can worry about the tricky stuff later."
"Agreed," said Ayumu.
Light glinted off of metal. Impact jarred her hands and sent painful tremors up her arms. At one point, she was surrounded by fire that burned her. Something slammed into her stomach, causing her to double over in agony. Finally, what she was holding was ripped out of her hands. The loss was accompanied by a sense of overwhelming despair. She wasn't given time to reflect on it. Instead, she felt the sting of something piercing her flesh, followed by a powerful kick of impact. She was knocked back and felt the ground give way to a yawning abyss as she teetered on the edge, trying to recover her balance. She might have recovered, but then she felt another stinging pain, this time in her chest, accompanied by a bitter chill…a chill that was only deepened by the hate-filled eyes that met her own as she pitched over the edge and into oblivion.
Her senses became lost in a haze of panic and despair, as she realized she was going to die. Worse still, she couldn't remember why. She didn't want to die. She hadn't done anything to deserve this. A whimper trickled out from her lips. Her heart pounded and her head felt like it was on fire.
Then, a cool sensation settled on her forehead. She felt someone's hand gently brushing through her bangs. That person's touch soothed her, easing away the terror. The pain of her injuries faded, then vanished. Her heartbeat slowed and the burning feeling was washed away by the cooling sensation of that gentle touch.
"You're okay," the voice said. "You're safe now."
She sighed in relief and slept once more. No dreams troubled her.
When Ruby's eyes opened again, she heard birds chirping and small animals rooting through undergrowth. The sounds were strangely muted in the cave. The place looked a little brighter, now that it was lit from without as the angle of the sun allowed its rays to shine on and through the entrance, though coming in at an angle that didn't reach all the way to the back. With a yawn, Ruby sat up, stretching her arms up towards the cave ceiling. This time, with her blouse on, she didn't have to worry about exposing herself to the boys who were taking care of her.
"Good morning," said Ayumu from where he stood, over by the entrance. "Did you sleep well?"
Ruby nodded slowly. "I…I think I had a nightmare at one point though," she said.
"That's what we thought," said Ayumu. "But it seems that Gin managed to calm you down. After that, you slept quite soundly."
Ruby felt her cheeks heat up slightly and decided to distract herself by looking around. "Where is he anyway?"
"Out, fetching breakfast," said Ayumu.
"Okay," said Ruby.
"I'm sorry to make you uncomfortable," said Ayumu, coming to sit beside her. "But, after you eat, I'm going to need you to take your blouse and underwear off."
"What?" gasped Ruby, her cheeks now bright red.
"I'm sorry," said Ayumu, bowing his head to her. "But we figured that it might be a good idea to wash them before you wear them again, considering the condition we found you in."
Ruby gulped and looked down at her blouse, noticing the cuts and the stained fabric around them.
"Um…also…at some point…we're going to have to check your injuries and make sure they aren't getting infected," added Ayumu.
Ruby shivered. Checking those would mean stripping off the bandages over her stomach and chest. The former didn't trouble her nearly as much as the latter.
"I know it's difficult," said Ayumu, running his hand through his hair. "But a little embarrassment is preferable to gangrene, I think."
"Y-yeah," stammered Ruby, feeling more than a little worried at the idea of stripping for these two boys, even if it was for the most benign of reasons. Granted, she was well aware that they had already seen her naked. However, that didn't make her any more comfortable.
"We'll try to make it as quick and un-invasive as possible," said Ayumu. "If you truly don't want us to, then we won't. We can wait until we get to Brandywine and have an actual doctor take a look at you."
Ruby swallowed. "Well…I'll trust you. You haven't taken advantage of me yet."
"And we don't intend to, ever," said Ayumu, bowing his head to her.
Ruby nodded and smiled, albeit it was a somewhat strained smile. She had spoken true when she said that she trusted them. But that didn't change the fact that the situation was unquestionably awkward.
Then something occurred to her, something that she hadn't noticed before, what with the strangeness of this situation. She didn't know who these boys were…aside from their names. Granted, they didn't know any more than that about her either. However, at least she had the excuse of not remembering much beyond her name. Perhaps, at the very least, she could learn more about the boys who rescued her.
"Um…I was wondering…" she said.
"Yes?" said Ayumu, looking up at her.
"Well…who are you two?" asked Ruby. "I mean…I know your names. But that's about it."
"Ah," said Ayumu. "Oh my! I didn't even think about that. You're right."
"It's all right if you don't want to answer," said Ruby.
"No, it's fine," said Ayumu. "I'm happy to answer your questions." He looked up. "Well, to be honest, there isn't all that much to say about us. We are traveling apprentices, students of the martial arts."
Ruby's eyes widened. "Martial artists? You mean like Huntsmen?" At the utterance of that word, Ruby's pulse quickened in excitement. Had she paused to think about it, she might have wondered why the thought of Huntsmen and Huntresses excited her so.
Ayumu chuckled dryly. "Not so much," he said. "We do not have the duties nor the authority affiliated with such an exalted profession. In fact, to be blunt, you might say we have more in common with wandering vagrants than anyone else. We have little property to our name, and roam from place to place, living off the land and doing odd jobs here and there."
That brought a frown to Ruby's face. "That's it?"
"I told you there wasn't much to say," said Ayumu with a soft laugh.
Then something else occurred to her. "Wait! You said you were apprentices, right? That means there's someone you're apprenticed to, right?"
"Ah, yes," said Ayumu, his smile faltering. "Fortunately, he is not present right now. I can't say for sure when we'll see him again."
Fortunately? "What kind of teacher just leaves his students?" demanded Ruby, the idea of such negligence striking her as extremely insulting, especially to the people who had done so much for her without any thought of recompense or reward.
"An odd one to be sure," said Ayumu. "You're not the first person to react in such a manner." He scratched his head. "But this is nothing particularly new nor special. After we reached a certain point in our training, our Master would regularly go on sojourns, turning us loose to fend for ourselves in the meantime. According to him, it is a way of testing our ability to apply what we have learned from him, and to grow our experience in the real world at the same time."
"That still seems…careless," said Ruby.
"Well, there's no denying that," said Gin, suddenly appearing at the cave mouth, his sudden appearance startling Ruby, though she managed to avoid jumping out of bed, given that the only things she was presently wearing were her blouse and panties. "Don't mistake it. Our Master is not a good man. If we wound up dying before he met up with us again, he wouldn't shed a single tear. In fact, he'd probably go and immediately find new apprentices to bully."
"Very true," said Ayumu. "He has always been stringent in that regard. Ever since he taught us the skills of survival, he has indicated that our success or failure lies with us, and it is our fault that we cannot properly apply the things that he taught us."
"But that's so…brutal," said Ruby, horrified by the thought.
"Be that as it may…there's no denying it was effective," said Gin, holding up the pair of rabbits that he caught in one hand, and a sack of vegetation in the other. "The skills we used to treat your injuries, to find and prepare the food we've given to you, even to make most of the tools we use, were all taught to us by him."
Ayumu nodded. "Thanks to him, we can thrive indefinitely in the wilderness, without the need for most of the equipment and luggage an average traveler would need to carry. We can find sustenance in nearly any environment. Even those that we have not been directly taught about, we can learn to determine what is safe to consume and what is not. In a sense, Master's sojourns are a chance for us to apply what we have learned. It is tactless and merciless, but it is not without merit."
"I see…" said Ruby.
"That being said, if you are fortunate, you will not have to meet him," said Ayumu. "He is a singularly…eccentric…individual."
"Which is to say that he's a sadistic asshole, whose only concern is his own gratification," growled Gin.
That drew a sigh from Ayumu. "Crass as his wording may be, Gin's statement is undeniably correct. Our Master is, perhaps, the furthest thing from what you might consider to be a 'good' person."
"Then why do you follow him?" asked Ruby.
"Well, we don't," said Gin. "Like we said, he leaves us when the mood strikes him and comes back in much the same way. No matter where we wander, he can track us down effortlessly."
Ayumu began to build the fire in the center of the cave. "And we weren't given much choice about becoming his students," he said. "To be honest, it was life or death."
"He threatened to kill you?" gasped Ruby.
"Oh no," said Ayumu quickly, waving the idea away with his hand. "However, you might say that he found us in similar straits to us finding you. Granted, neither of us had to deal with any kind of amnesia, but…"
"The feeling of being lost, of feeling at the end of everything…" said Gin, staring at the ground, "…standing at the edge of death, with no hope of survival, save for accepting the hand a mysterious stranger has held out to you…if we wanted to live, there was no choice but to accept his terms."
"We each ended up regretting it almost immediately," said Ayumu with a laugh. "But…at the same time…we each resolved to persevere."
"Why?" asked Ruby.
"Our Master is not a 'good' man. His character is utterly reprehensible. There are a thousand other terrible traits of his we could tell you about him. But…" Ayumu lifted his eyes to stare at the cave ceiling, a wistful look on his face.
"…He's strong," said Gin, picking up the thread of the conversation, raising his own eyes to meet Ruby's. She felt a shudder of excitement as she saw the look of iron determination in his eyes. "He's stronger than anyone we've ever met. His strength transcends nearly everything else. Even if we hate nearly everything else about him, we can't help but appreciate that one thing and…pursue it with all our strength."
"Wow," said Ruby, admiring the kind of dedication it must take to train under someone that you despised so much, whose character you held in utter contempt. What kind of strength could inspire such admiration as to allow these two students of his to look past the numerous manifest character flaws they saw in him?
"Well…we can talk about that later," said Ayumu. "Now, it's time for breakfast."
"Okay," said Ruby, her stomach adding its input to the conversation with a faint growl, which caused her to blush, even as she giggled.
There honestly isn't all that much to say about this chapter. The going for this story is gonna be slow at first. But things will pick up as we go on.
Next time: Ruby learns a magic trick.
