Disclaimer: RK is not mine =( sniff sniff..
~ A Memory Forgotten ~
Chapter 3
"What's your name?" Soujiro asked the girl.
"I . . I . . I .. can't remember." She whispered and tears started to stream down her face.
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Soujiro looked at the sight before him. The girl who was smiling so brightly was now in a fit of confusion and sadness. He didn't know how to approach this. His heart went out to the girl. Who would do this to her? And what is this feeling that I feel right now? At a loss of what to do, he suddenly remembered that there was doctor on the premises. He looked at the girl and touched her hand.
"Don't worry. I'm going to ask the doctor. Everything will be fine, miss." Soujiro said softly. This seemed to calm down the girl and she nodded at him. He smiled at her one last time before walking out the door to find the doctor.
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Soujiro knocked on each door in the hallway. "Excuse me, is the doctor in here?" He heard no reply.
He knocked on at least five doors until he heard a reply. He opened the door slowly. He found the doctor sitting at the table doing some kind of paperwork.
"Excuse me doctor. But the girl that I brought in yesterday seems to not remember her own name. What happened to her?" Soujiro asked with worry. Worry? Soujiro started to feel even more confused.
"The lady that you brought here last night was shot with a dart in the back of her neck. The serum from the dart instead of just penetrating the muscles actually hit her spinal cord. The spinal cord has fluids that are needed to execute bodily functions as you may know. However, the serum flowed from her spinal cord to her cerebellum, which is where she would keep her memories. The serum seemed to abstract her memories, so she will be suffering from a case of amnesia. However, with time and care she should be fine again." He stated simply. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, arigato. How long do you think she will be in this condition?" he asked.
"I'm not sure. It varies amongst patients. Since the serum actually affected her brain, it may take longer than normal. I'm saying probably months or so until she is better." The doctor replied.
"Sou-ka." Soujiro said dumbfounded. He looked down at his hands. What was he going to do with her? Who were those people with her? If I could find them, maybe I could bring her back to them. However, I didn't even get to see their faces so there is no way I can find them. This is quite a dilemma. I'll think of something, he thought to himself.
Then he looked back up at the doctor and smiled his usual smile. "Arigato."
"Oh. The lady should be fine now, so you can take her back home with you." The doctor said.
"Back home?" Soujiro asked dumbfounded. I don't even have a home. I'm a rurouni. This situation is getting even more complicated.
"Yes, back home. Now if you don't mind, I need to get back to more of this paper work and prescriptions for my other patients. Please close the door on your way out," the doctor said while turning back to his work.
"Hai," Soujiro replied. His heart beat rapidly as he approached the girl's room. What was he going to say to her and what was he going to do about this situation? He walked to the door and was about to knock when he heard sniffling sounds. She is still upset, he thought. Then he remembered seeing her in the morning, with the sun shining brightly down on her and how she was smiling at him. I like her smile, he thought and he felt a warm feeling in heart when he thought about it. I want to see more of that smile. And with that thought he announced, "Miss, it's Soujiro. I'm coming into your room."
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Kaoru looked up from her hands to face him as he came in. She tried to smile, but she couldn't because she was in too much pain from the mental agony. Who am I? How come I can't remember? Who am I to him? Mou!!!! I have to remember! She thought with much determination. "What did the doctor say, Seta-san?"
Soujiro smiled at her and said, "He said that you have a case of amnesia due to the dart's serum that hit the back of your neck last night. However, you should regain your memory back in time." And as an afterthought, he added, "Oh, and please call me Soujiro, miss."
"Oh, okay Soujiro." The girl smiled at him making Soujiro feel that warmth in his heart again. The girl's smile faltered a bit when she asked, "Soujiro, how long will I be like this? And what am I going to do until then I get better? I don't even know where my home is! I don't even remember who my friends are!" And with that she started to cry uncontrollably.
Soujiro looked at her sadly. He hadn't figured out what to do about that part either. He walked up to her and embraced her. He felt her stiffen suddenly. He didn't plan to hug her, it was just an impulse. I wonder what has gotten into me, Soujiro thought. However, for some reason or another, holding her close to him felt right. He felt the girl relax against him. Then he said to her in a soft voice, "I remember when I came to save you, there were two other people there who I'm guessing may either be your friends or your family. I will try to look for them. Don't worry, everything is going to be, miss." He smiled.
"Arigato, Soujiro." Her sobbing turned into sniffles again. He gently pulled back from their embrace unwillingly and placed her head back on the pillow. He got some tissues and gave them to her so that she could wipe her face. Why do I feel like this around her?, he thought to himself. He watched as she closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.
He stepped away from her while watching her sleeping form. What should I do about her? I don't want to leave her alone. I have to find her friends so that she can go back to them. Last I heard, they were taken by the police. But if that is so, I can't go there. (A/N: As you remember, at the end of the Kyoto Arc, all of the Juppon Gatana were taken away and put to government use in return for them not being punished. The only ones that got away were Seta Soujiro and the Iwanbo.) I have to think of something! , he mentally struggled to find some sort of solution to this obstacle at hand. He decided he would wander around Tokyo and find out more information.
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Once Soujiro stepped out of the office, he felt a sigh of relief. When he was with her, his emotions were in turmoil. He had never felt such a tug on his emotions since his last fight with the Battousai. Which he had lost, which proved that he was weak. However, the Battousai didn't kill him. He let him live and since then he promised himself to find the answer to his purpose in life, generally speaking. In order to find that answer, he would follow Himura's path and wander around Japan for ten years. He hoped that by then he would have found the answer and could finally decide for himself who was right, Himura or Shishio.
He then focused on the task at hand. He needed to find information about the girl who he had found on the road. He thought that it would be best to go back to the site where he had found her in the first place. Maybe her friends are back there searching for her, he thought to himself.
Soujiro looked around and then started his trek back to the same road from the previous night.
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At Dr. Genzai's Care Center
"Oi Fox, be more careful with that will you!" Sano screamed.
"Ohohohohoo. I didn't know you were such a baby, tori-atama." Megumi replied.
"I have to go find Jou-chan! Hurry up. We've already wasted so much time!"
"If you would stop moving around so much and let me finish, I would have been done a couple of hours ago!" Megumi exclaimed and hit him in the arm.
"Stop fighting. We have to go find Kaoru. We don't know
what's happened to her," Yahiko exclaimed feeling upset. Please let Kaoru be okay. I don't know what I would do without her.
Then Yahiko added,
"Kenshin will be back tomorrow !!! We have to find her before then. What if he
goes back to Rakuninmura again?"
Sanosuke and Megumi looked at each other. Both eyes were glazed with emotion. They remembered what had happened to Kaoru since Enishi's revenge. Kenshin, having found her body in the dojo, broke down emotionally. Having lost someone so dear to him a second time, his mind couldn't take it. He couldn't protect the person he loved the most. So he retreated and went to Rakuninmura. This place was where people go who have no feelings or emotions, they're there just in body. They had tried many times to talk him into coming back, but his mind couldn't register anything that they had said. He was in too deep a depression to answer anything.
"Where should we start looking, Sano?" Yahiko asked.
"Maybe we can ask Saitou." Sano replied, even though he hated him. It was a weird relationship between the both of them. He had both hated and admired the man. He admired his strength, and after the Shishio thing, Sano decided that he would surpass him in that area.
"Okay, I'm almost done. Don't do any stupid things like you usually do, tori-atama. Yahiko, look after him. I feel better knowing that one of you is smart," Megumi exclaimed.
"Feh!" Sanosuke exclaimed.
Having finished, Sanosuke and Yahiko hurriedly ran to the police station in hopes that they would have some information regarding Kaoru's disappearance.
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Soujiro found himself on the same road again. Hmm..how do I start?, he thought. Then he heard some noises off the road. He turned and saw three big, burly men standing next to the tree. One of the men's arms were propped next to the side of the tree, putting his weight on it as if to support him. Soujiro felt that there was something strange about them so he went to investigate.
He decided it would be best if he hid somewhere so that they wouldn't notice his presence. He sprinted rapidly and jumped on top of the tree that was about seven feet or so away from the group. He ran so quickly that it was not noticed by the three standing by the tree. Then he proceeded to listen in on their conversation.
"Boss isn't too happy about what happened last night," the first thug said.
"Isn't that obvious?" the second one sneered.
"Why are we standing here anyway? Shouldn't we be looking for the girl?" the third one asked.
"You're so thick-headed. We don't know where she is. It's best to wait and see if her friends come back to look for her," the second one replied. Soujiro thought to himself, the second one must be the one in charge of this group since he seemed to be the most intelligent one, (which isn't saying much for his part).
"Oh. So what do we do when we see 'em?" the first one asked.
"They most likely have the girl since the dart hit her. There's no way she could be walking around by herself. Also, I found out that when the police came and got Fuji and Shiori" Those must be the two that attacked last night, Soujiro thought and then continued to listen into their conversation. ". . . nobody was there except for them. Somehow the other three had escaped."
"Feh! I'm sick of waiting here," said the third one and spat on the ground. "Why does the boss want the Kamiya girl anyway?"
Kamiya, Soujiro thought, that must be her last name. He felt better since at least he could tell her what her last name was when he got back to the doctor's place.
Soujiro continued to listen more. His eyes grew wide in surprise as he heard the last part of their conversation.
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- To be Continued
Please read and review! Thanks~ =D
A/N: Nicky- Thanks for all your comments and reviews =) They're inspiring. And yes, there will be Soujiro/Kaoru scenes early on in the story.
Thanks again to: Nicky, wolfpack, Uenki, Princess of Darkness, Tsugoi Kakarlena, and Sanosuke Sagara for your support!
