Chpt. 11 Memory Lane
I enter the room quickly, anxious to see what will happen when I do this. "Master."
"Ah, my Light Ninja. How did your training session go?" I bow in front of Shredder, no longer feeling gratitude for him getting me out of the hell hole called prison. He lied to me, Karai lied to me. The Foot, Elite guards, The Elemental Guards, all lied to me. Even Hun, one of the few people I can confine to as a friend usually, lied to me about why he got me out.
"Went according to plan Master." Shredder stands, a chuckle on his lips. Karai, sitting behind him smiles, looking away. Only Hun did not smile, which did irk me some.
"You have their masks?" I bring my hand around, showing the blood covered masks. I follow the trail of blood that dripped from Leo's mask, actually covered in Leo's blood. If he hadn't jumped when he did. "And their blood. Well done my Light Ninja." Shredder walks up to me, an evil glint in his eyes. He grabs the masks from my hands, looking them over quickly.
"There are no cuts. Why?" He asked. I look down.
"They did not want to fight me. For some reason we will never know."
"And yet you have a scratch on your arm?" I look at my right shoulder, glaring at the blood that clotted there.
"The one named Raphael was not so hesitant to fight as the others. He threw both of his Sais at me at the last second. One got me."
"Ah yes, the hot head. What did you do to the bodies? I want to make sure they don't come back." I look up, giving a fake wicked glint. Before, it would have been real. Now, I had to force it.
"Someone at the hospital is going to have extra ashes in their urn." Shredder smiles, and turns back to Karai and Hun.
"Karai, you may leave. Hun, show her, her new room." Both of them get up, Karai leaving much more quickly than Hun. I smile politely as Hun walks up to me. His bulking size was an intimidation once. But now, knowing I'm more skilled than he is, it's just a nuisance.
"Come along, Light Ninja." I had gotten to his harsh tone and petty nicknames a while ago. Now, it just amused me when he gave me new nicknames that should be insults. We fall into order, leaving in a line. Once the doors are fully closed, I walked till I'm beside Hun. "So, how was the fight?" He asked conversationally.
"Easy. The youngest, Mikey, tried to protect his older brother, Leo. Gave him some broken ribs that punctured a lung, I think. Leo, was next. He's skilled, kept me slicing for a minute-"
"He must be if it took you that long to cut him down."
"Then I split my katana into twins. I used the surprise to cut Leo from his right shoulder to his left hip. Nearly split him in two." Hun laughs.
"Now explain me this, how were they reluctant to fight you?" I look down, following Hun into the elevator. Once the doors were closed, I knew we were safe.
"They tried to make me believe that before I had amnesia, I had lived with them. They said they weren't going to fight someone they considered a friend. They tried to make me change my mind, make me believe I had hung out with them at some point."
The elevator doors open silently, and Hun walks me all the way to the back of the hall.
"Here's your room." I smile, looking over the door. It was intricate, a japanese blossom over it. "May I come in?"
I look at him, lifting an eyebrow. "Only if you can get in without breaking my frame."
September 9, 2007
"Focus Susan. You must focus. Forget your surroundings and only pay attention to my voice."
"That's easier said than done, Sensei."
I cringe, leaning against my knees. Stop, please stop. The black carpet felt soft against my forehead, and I rested my head on it.
"Just listen."
"Tell me another one of your stories."
"No, please don't." I whimper, grabbing my skull. It was hurting, the memories. They were causing my brain agony. I couldn't stand, I couldn't open my eyes. Why am I doing this to myself?
"Well... Let's say its summertime. And we're in the house. It's me and my brother-"
"Which brother?" Hitoshi chuckles, a very deep and sultry chuckle.
"The gamer." I smile, settling into a more comfortable place. "And this is one of those few times I agree to play a game with him. It was this weird gun game, I don't know what. And we were against each other. And he was smoking me." I smile, imaging it. Hitoshi and his unfaced brother, but I bet he looked like him. Same skin, same eyes.
"And at one point my other brother's wife walks in and snatches the controls from me. She pressed several buttons and the game over button popped up. And my brother is just staring at the screen with horror. With a few buttons, I wouldn't know what she pressed if I had studied that controller front to back, she had beat my Gamer Brother. And he was so mad..." I smiled, focusing on his voice finally.
My skull stopped aching, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I lean back slowly, ready for the next memory that was sure to come. I sat up, looked at my bed. With shaky legs I walked up to crimson bed, laying down on the soft comforter. I pulled the covers over my head, rubbing my head.
Hitoshi. Aoi. Hitoshi. Aoi. It was the same guy, but with two different names. Why is he in my head? Why is he talking to me? What the hell does he look like? When I tried to picture him all I got was blue. But blue what! Blue eyes, blue shirt, blue hair?
"Liz." I cringe, my heart getting the feeling of being punched. I knew that voice, I missed that voice. I wanted to hear it again. But I didn't want to even think about it. "Honey."
"Shut up!" I shout, grabbing my cranium. "Just shut up mom. I don't want another memory."
September 11, 2007
"Will I ever find someone in the future?" I looked up at the body of someone who meant something to me, if only these last few months.
"Of course you will, that's part of the reason I'm here... I know he'll be what you need when you need him. He'll make you happy, even when you are depressed. He'll give you what you want most..." A male voice resounds in my already fading memory.
What do you look like, Hitoshi? All I can remember is brown eyes, and blue something. What was blue? Why do I remember the color blue so well!
"What I want most was taken from me." The smooth body moves, staring at me in the dark. White teeth shine through the night, reflecting off the crescent moon. A faint glow of metal shines on his back as he shifts into a more comfortable position.
"You'll get it back. That's the cool thing about him." I shiver against a blow of wind, wrapping the thick blanket tighter around him and I in the November chill.
"Whatever you say."
Daylight shined in my eyes, the orange sun hurting my face when I opened my eyes. I rubbed them harshly, waking up from another memory. My skull felt heavy, but I was no longer getting a headache. Which was good, I had training to do today. And yesterday ended up a failure, when I got a memory about the train crash in the middle of sparring.
I remembered my mom and dad getting crushed between two different seats, blood dribbling from my father's mouth, and thanked the lord that his eyes were closed. And then the searing pain, the horror of looking down to see a pipe sticking through my stomach, blood dribbling from the end.
"Wake up." I spat, pinching my arm. "Don't think about it. Just wake up."
"What's his name? The supposed person who saves my life?"
"Can't tell. It could do something that would be irreversible." He murmurs, helping me over a tree log.
"Ok, up we go." I stood up, throwing the covers off my body. I flexed my back, getting satisfying pops all along the spine. I brush my hair over my ear, annoyed when it fell in my face again. Stupid, stupid short hair.
I grumbled on my way to the bathroom, feeling a hint of sweat over my body. I peeled off my shirt, staring in the mirror at myself. I was no longer malnutrition, and my skin finally decided to let go of all its dirt, so it was white again. Except for the little pink mark peeking over my shoulder. I don't remember sustaining the wound, but police records said it was a sword. It irked me to know who it was, because I wanted the pleasure of using one of Shredder's rooms to torture him. Oh the noises I could get out of-
I turned the shower on, rubbing my left shoulder. The scar was raised and angry, a span from my left shoulder to right hip. I don't remember the pain of sustaining the wound, or laying in a pool of my own blood, which I apparently did so. But I do remember waking up in a sterilized room to a heart monitor beeping at me, an IV in my arm, right next to a blood transfusion. And this intense pain rolling along my spine. It hurt to breath, it hurt to move, and the nurse looked at me like I was the bane of his life. Cole was his name. Nurse Cole, 10 years a nurse.
He gave me a dose of morphine, and then walked away, not caring to notice if I could talk or if I even knew my name. When I get my hands on him, I am so going to-
I walked in the shower, cowering for a moment as I turned the dial. Too hot.
"Here, tree cover... We should stay here until it cools down, or we're going to have a heat stroke."
I grip the wall, letting the water cascade down my body. My back sighed with relief, a bruise from yesterday getting a good blast of water.
What are the turtles doing? Leo was probably still in the bed, his wounds ailing him and disabling him. I cringed at the thought, an image of Leo in a coma while his brothers surrounded him. I should go find them. Make sure they're safe. Oh poor Mikey.
With slow movements, aware that my body still ached, I grabbed soap, stepping out of the water to lather my skin. And then I went back under the stream.
Where did they live? I would think they lived somewhere hidden, but where is that exactly? An abandoned apartment? Outskirts of town? The sewers? Someplace I've been before.
With a growl, I jam the water off, leaving its porcelain compartments to stand on wooden planks. The bathroom was relatively big, mostly considering there's only me in this humongous room. It's walls were themed green, with vines creeping through the walls. The sink was soloed in the corner, a white porcelain embedded in granite. The toilet had some semblance of being normal. Glass, white and non-transparent, hovered in the corner. The rest of the room was decorated with towels and pictures, one of which I despised. The Foot emblem framed with a black and red portrait holder.
An image appeared in my head. Traveling through the sewers, black figures chasing me. I was following a certain pipeline. Left, left, straight, right, straight, left. And then a wall. Nothing but a wall. I gripped at pipes along the wall before finally pulling one down.
"Raph!"
I wrapped a towel around me, still staring at the Foot picture. So I wasn't ever their friend, I was their enemy. I really did meet the turtles first. In the sewers.
I escaped the bathroom, reaching for my weapon on the weapon's rack. A katana sword I had gotten a week into my training, having taken the best liking to it. Through the door I saw a hulking figure sitting at my couch, twiddling his thumbs. Why in the world was Hun here so early?
I closed the door to my room, shimmering through my towel and wrapping my hair up with it. With a sigh, I looked through my clothes, noticing nothing was black. All of it was meant to hide me in light, nothing about the dark. Well I know who I'm finding. A woman called April.
I pulled out one of my elastic outfits, folding it down so I had a prayer of getting my legs in. I pulled it up, my legs slowly feeling constriction by the tight material. When I got it all on I grabbed a face cover, tucking it into my sleeve.
"Hun, is there a reason you're in my room?" I asked, grabbing my sword as I left the room. Hun jumped, pushing my table two feet from where it was supposed to be. He cursed, picking it up and placing it back where it was.
"Master Shredder wants you." He states, looking at me. "Something about training."
I stiffen, running through different conversations I have had with various people. I never said anything, so I couldn't be in trouble. "Training?"
Hun nods, looking at the door. "Yeah. Um, come." He beckons, walking to the door with a quickened pace. I frown, walking through the door with him. Hun avoided my eyes, and kept a pace brisk enough that I stayed behind. He wove me through the halls of Shredder's lair, taking me down instead of up.
"Didn't you say we were going to see Master Shredder?" I asked when we entered the elevator and he pressed for floor 1. Hun looked at me, his jaw set.
"Not quite. He needed me to relay a message." I reach over my shoulder, grabbing the sword. Hun followed my movements, his fist tightening.
"He says a spy found the turtles on the roof. One of them actually, the purple one." A shiver rolled down my back. Hun's grey eyes searched me, and I had to stay still from giving anything away.
"Are you accusing me of lying to my Master?" I asked venomously. Hun's eyes widened, and he shook his head. I gripped my sword, slowly lifting it from its sheath.
"No. Master Shredder just wanted you to talk to you. He values your words over a meer spy." He looks forwards, hands balled into fists.
"So why are we going down?" I ask. Hun smirks, looking up as the doors open.
"You have a new training session."
September 13, 2007
"Don't be afraid, you're not going to hurt me." I look at the blurred face of Hitoshi, who was blending into the dark.
"You don't know that." I murmur, gripping the sword closer to my body. Teeth gleamed in the dark.
"After 25 years of living in the ninja life, I think I can fight off an inexperienced 13-year-old." I smiled, feeling my heart start to pound in my chest.
"What do I do first?" Brown eyes glimmered, Hitoshi's head tilting down.
"Attack."
I sat up, grabbing my head. It was two in the morning, give it a break already. Haven't I had enough memories? I massaged my temples, closing my eyes.
"Sensei?" I look at the blurred body of Hitoshi. He was grabbing his shoulder, and there was a steady drip of blood trailing down his arm and pinging to the floor. He was making a distressed noise, and his hand was bloody. "Hitoshi?"
"I'm fine. You just cut me." He rasped, standing slowly. I swallowed, my vision narrowing on the blood.
"I hurt you. You said I couldn't... I hurt you with..." I dropped the sword, leaning against the bridge we were under. I folded my arms under me, staring at his shoulder. Hitoshi walked up to me, grabbing my hands. I felt his blood, warm against my skin.
"Susan. Look at me. Susan. Susan!" Something slapped me, and I look up. "Susan, don't assume it was your fault. The fact you managed to hit me speaks volumes of what you can do. It's just a little blood."
"A little?" I stare into his eyes, calm and caring.
"Yes. This is nothing. Here," He grabbed my hand tighter, pressing it against his chest. "Do you feel that?" I look at where my hand was. Hitoshi had abandoned his shirt at the beginning of this training, and I could see the scar crossing over his front. The scar was still raised, and it was deep. The scar tissue was years old, but still stuck out.
"How did you get that?" I ask, feeling my stomach shivering.
"I got into a bad fight. This cut nearly killed me. But I survived." I traced my finger over the ridge of it, watching as his skin prickled with goosebumps. I looked up, the foot height difference getting in the way. "What you did, is nothing compared to this."
I nod, looking back at his chest. Above the scar was a Christmas present I had given him. A black leather string, hooked to it was a dragon. A blue dragon, curled and ready to attack. I had figured Hitoshi would like it, and it had reminded me of him. And since he got it, I hadn't seen him without it.
I opened my eyes again, leaning back in bed. A scar spanning the length of his chest. That was new. And the sword. Why was that a thing? Raph had said I hated swords, was that the reason? Was hurting Hitoshi such a bad thing that I never picked the weapon up again? At least, until I got amnesia.
I lie in bed, turning on my side to stare out in the city. The sky was clear, the moon a crescent in the sky. I couldn't see many stars, but that was fine. I wasn't too interested in that area of the sky. I was more interested in watching the moon fall.
0o0
I woke up to the sun peaking over the horizon. Too bright, too colorful. Too beautiful. I flip to my stomach, pressing my face into the pillow. And I waited. There was normally something there. A memory. Or maybe they're all dreams. But it was still going to come.
And I waited. The sun was starting to color the walls. Consciousness was taking root in my brain, and soon I wouldn't be able to stay laying in bed. I'll get up, bathe, eat, and then wander around until I had to train again. And the memory could happen at any time. That was the problem.
And waited. I clenched my eyes closed, took a deep breath, and gave up. With a heave, I pushed myself from the bed. I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the sun for the short time I could. And it hit me.
I was looking at the rising sun in the late winter. It was orange today, and bright. But this abandoned apartment made it easy to stare at it. A grimy window blocked out most of what could blind me. Beside me was Hitoshi, who had his arm around me.
"What are we doing today?" I ask. Hitoshi took a breath, staring into the roof. It was molding, so I don't know why he'd like to look at it, but he was weird. It was kind of expected by him now.
"I'm leaving." He murmurs. I tense, running numbers through my head. How many... Just a few. That was what he said.
"Where are you going?" I asked, staring at the sun more intensely. Hitoshi tightens his grip on me, his chest expanding, like he was going to make a loud outburst. And then he deflated.
"I don't know. Home probably." He lets go of me, stepping down from the table we were sitting on. I was still a bit short, unable to fully sit on the table without having to jump. But it made me near chin level with Hitoshi. My eyes were drawn to the necklace that was still around his throat, somehow surviving the hike across America.
"And what am I supposed to do?" I asked. He smiled, brushing the side of my face with a finger. I look up into his brown eyes. They told me he was worried, saddened, but confident.
"When we met, I didn't know why I was there. But I do now. I was to help you across America, because you wouldn't have been able to make it on your own. And now you gotta do what you set out to do. Get rid of the bad, save the good. Meet the man you were destined for. Don't snivel in a corner, and don't be afraid."
"You know me in the future?" He laughs, tilting his head down. He'd abandoned blue. Whatever he had that was blue, he had traded it out for green.
"Still kinda why I'm here. But yes. I'll see you in a while again." I smiled at that, relaxing my shoulders. Hitoshi smiles again, cupping the side of my face.
"You'll do fine. Trust me." He murmurs. I nod, leaning into his grip.
"That man you said I'll meet, the one you said will change my life," He nods, asking me to continue. "What does he look like?"
Hitoshi's eyes suddenly looked pained, and they lost focus, like he was looking into the far past. "He's... well built, especially for someone his age. He's violent at times, but he means the best of it. He has hazel eyes, brownish hazel really. And they'll look yellow sometimes. And he... He'll be really good to you. Which, after these last three years, I really think you deserve."
"That's not much description." I state. He smiles cheerily, letting go of my cheek. He turns around, looking at the rising sun.
"I think that's for the better. You'll forget about him for a while... Best learn how to like him on your own."
"Learn from reality, not from the image." I state, quoting him from a time near the beginning of our adventure. Hitoshi doesn't respond, looking for something in the rising sun.
"I need one last thing from you," He murmurs. "And I know it might be too much to ask, but I have too." I jump from the table, taking the step towards him that was needed. He lifted his arms slightly, allowing me to hug him from behind.
"What is it?" I asked, resting my forehead on his shoulder-blade. I felt his chest expand, another deep breath. He twists in my arms, putting a distance between us so we can see each other.
"I need you to forget me." I stopped inhaling, staring at Hitoshi with horror. "See, that's the face I knew you were going to make!"
"Well of course I'm going to make that face! You're telling me to forget three years of my life. The three most adventurous and -dare I say- fun years of my life. You're asking me to forget you!" I state. He frowns, his blurred face looking outside again.
"Please... Liz." I rock on my heels, surprised to hear my name. It had been years. It was Hitoshi and Susan. There wasn't any Liz and whatever his name was. "You have to forget me. Remembering I exist, what I look like, it could ruin so much stuff."
"I thought you said you were supposed to walk with me." His brown eyes widened as he glanced at me again. He proceeds to smile, shaking his head.
"After knowing you for as many years as I have, I still can't believe you can surprise me... But yeah, I am supposed to walk with you, and you can remember I did sooner or later. But for now you have to forget me." He wraps his arms around me, pulling me towards him. "But that doesn't mean forever."
I close my eyes, pressing my nose against his chest. My eyes watered, and a shiver racked my body. "Three years, Aoi. That's a lot of time to forget."
"I know you can do it. You have done it before." I laughed a little, nodding into his chest, breathing through my nose. He smelled like leather, sweat, smog. So different from three years ago. Back then he smelled of books, metal, and smog.
He squeezed me again, and then released me. He turns to the door, breathing deeply through his nose. He doesn't look back as he walks to the door, yanking it open and letting more light flood in. His silhouette made a shadow that cast a dark mark on the ground. I saw his head tip left, and then he stepped through the door, closing it behind him.
I shivered, my body racking with sweat. I looked away from the sun, my stomach quivering. So that's why I don't remember Hitoshi's face. I was trying to forget him before I got amnesia. And it worked. I can't remember.
I sat there for an hour, minimal. The sun breached the horizon and managed a couple of inches before I finally stood up. I did the routine, shaking off the image of a blurred Hitoshi. It ached me to know why he went from blue to green, but I wasn't going to dwell on it.
I had more problems, like leaving Shredder's lair to find the turtles. Could I just leave and not to worry about punishments? Did I have to ask? I figured the best way to find out was to just try, and that was what I was going to do. But not today, I didn't know how to find the passage to their home. All I knew was that they were in the sewers.
But maybe that was enough.
