Hmm... Another favorite chapter of mine. n.n There are about 3 chapters i wrote that i really like and this is one of them. So, despite the fact that i /despise/ Zophise with all my being, i hope you at least can enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Alrighty?

-o-o-o-o-o-

Pairing: KokoxZophise
Rating: T
Summary: Koko has lost her memory of the saga with Zophise, but something bitter lingers...


My Heart's Sanctuary

7

Bitter

Koko stared blankly at the ceiling while she lay alone in the hospital room, her mind not entirely focused on anything in particular. It had only been a few weeks since she had woken up from a deep sleep …She frowned to herself at the thought of not being able to remember anything for the past few months. What had she been up to?

To the side, the door to her room opened and a nurse walked in after peering through the cracked door, the woman smiled as she walked up to the patient lying on the bed.

"Good morning, Koko," began the nurse, "How are you feeling today?"

"…Fine." The chocolate haired woman said nothing more as she watched with little interest as the nurse began to jot down some things on a paper that was attached to a clipboard. Her dark brown eyes wandered to the window and she saw a bird fly up to a section of the building that she could see and twittered a bit, hopping about on the ledge of the building before it flew off again.

"Well, Koko, I just came to inform you that you will be in here for only about another week more," said the nurse after a moment of writing on the clipboard as she looked down at Koko, lying on the cot. "Won't that be nice to finally get out?"

"I suppose…" Her head turned around to face the nurse and she tried to smile, but something was still in the back of her mind, preventing her from doing such actions with a full meaning… Something much darker and much more sinister…

"I've heard that as soon as you're out you'll be heading into college," said the nurse, holding the clipboard to her side as she stared at the woman lying before her on the hospital bed.

"Yeah."

"That's great to hear, I wish you the best of luck when you leave." Before turning back around, the nurse smiled before she matted down her white skirt and faced the door, "I'll be back a little bit later to check up on you again, alright, Koko? I have to go check on a few other patients first."

"Alright."

Koko watched with her head lying against the pillow as the nurse walked out the door, her eyes averted to her head where a white hat had been placed atop the woman's curled hair. Chocolate eyes wide, a vision flashed through her mind as she noticed how familiar shaped the hat was…

Two distorted silhouettes of two figure were seen, standing in front of a burning home… One with a book, one with a menacing smile in a doll like form…

Shaking away the thought, the woman looked up to the ceiling again. She wondered when Sherry would pay her a visit… Yesterday afternoon her best friend had come in and they talked for a bit, but the woman noticed something odd about the blonde…

"Sherry, what's wrong with your arm?" questioned the brunette, pointing to a bandage that was seen wrapped around her forearm to her shoulder. Sherry flushed before she shook her head with a smile, saying that it was nothing. "You're hurt," replied Koko as she sat up in the bed. She tilted her head to the side. "Did something happen? You can tell me."

"I'm alright, Koko, I just tripped and…" Sherry trailed off and Koko couldn't help but feel that the woman was hiding something from her…

Koko glanced out in the hallway where she saw a darker figure cloaked in black leaning against the wall. He peered into the room, his red orbs completely ignoring her gaze and they landed upon her friend.

"Sherry, hurry up," he called out in an agitated voice, "You've wasted enough time here. Let's go."

With an exasperated sigh, Sherry turned around and called back, "I'm coming, Brago, hold on!" Turning back around to face her friend, the woman sighed apologetically and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Koko, he can be a little impatient at times. I'll try and visit you soon, OK?"

Smiling, Koko nodded her head and her friend stood up, clutching onto a black book that the brunette had never seen before, she had to wonder what it was about, but didn't bother to ask.

"I'll see you soon, Koko."

"Bye, Sherry!" Her friend smiled before she walked out the door, her companion out in the hallway gruffly muttered something before they headed back out of the hospital. Koko stared back as they left, still wondering what was going on, and how Sherry had hurt her arm…

Sherry had never hidden anything from her, not ever! So what was so bad that she couldn't afford to tell her? Did she get into some sort of fight? Something was up… She wouldn't even tell her why she was suddenly hanging around this… darker creature… Koko questioned why once before but Sherry merely assured her that he was a friend.

So she befriended him, all right, but the idea of Sherry making friends with the likes of a demon was very odd… Or at least this was what Koko believed he was. What else could he be with piercing eyes so red and fierce? He looked nothing like a human! How could Sherry allow something like this, Koko never would, so why Sherry of all people?

But still, she had to wonder. When the thought of demons running amok penetrated into her clouded mind, she couldn't help but recall seeing something familiar… Yet it seemed so distant…

A woman clutched a book in her arms as she laughed before murmuring something incoherent. An explosion was soon seen and heard after a pink ray of light crashed into another foreign object…

These obscure images kept appearing within her already confused mind… They made no sense! What were they? Her brows furrowed down and the woman frowned. She didn't understand anything, why was her memory completely gone? Where had she been for the past few months? Not even Sherry, her best friend, would tell her! The doctors and nurses had no answers, they were merely there to do their job and attend the unusual wounds that she had unknowingly received…

They did different tests upon her that made her even more confused, it made no sense, and she wasn't hurt, yet somehow she had been! After questioning them, they merely said that she had different wounds that needed to be attended to. Wounds? What had she done to injure herself? What did this mean? They did tests… So many tests… Even a particular test that made Koko quite uncomfortable with herself…

A menacing figure leaned up to a woman, smirking as he brushed his pale lips against hers, pushing her up against a wall as he caressed her cheek with his hand. There was a moan and an evil chuckle as the kiss continued with a startling, furious passion… The woman shivered as they went deeper…

Swallowing, Koko closed her eyes and stared at her hands that were gripping the clean, white sheets of the hospital bed and she released them. They were moist and wet; she brushed her hand against her forehead and realized that she was sweating…

Such thoughts certainly did not bring her comfort. Somehow losing her memory was one thing, but… her virginity? What had happened? She knew that something had happened, something with a foul, bitter taste… Something bitter lingered within her mouth… What? She didn't particularly like bitter foods nor would they have had such a long aftertaste, so that was out of the question… What was it?

Suddenly the woman jumped when she heard a chirp and her attention quickly turned to the window. A bird with a red-feathered chest was sitting on the edge of the window pane outside of the room, she sighed at the realization of what it was and relaxed just a little more. She stared at its pretty colors and somewhat of a smile crawled upon her lips, but her eyes remained on the bird's red chest. Her eyes widened.

Red eyes stared up at a woman as the figure smirked, cupping her chin, tenderly brushing his fangs over her neck, kissing her tender lips and murmuring lies…

She couldn't remember what it was, or when it had happened, but something or another took place within the past few months, something big. That's what she couldn't bring to mind. Chances are she never would, but still… Whatever it was that was so disdainful… with that horrid taste… How could she ever accept that? She wouldn't allow it, absolutely wouldn't! If it really happened to be a person, or thing, she would never allow that either… Yet still, something remained…

With a sigh, the woman closed her eyes, deciding that she was tired and forced her anxiety to go away. Later… she would think of it later… She would think of everything later, she desired sleep.

So with that, the tired woman summoned sleep upon her. It was still early morning, so she was enabled to sleep in just a little longer, there would be no crime in that if she did nod off… The bird chirped and hopped to the side a little more before it flew away into the sky, the red vanishing from the brunette's vision…

Two red eyes stared up at Koko as she held onto a dark purple book that had an eerie, melancholy glow… She stared back down at the demon before her with tainted lilac eyes, smiling, and bent down and kissed the figure, the all too familiar bitter taste returned, entrancing her senses…