Ghost
Step Ten: Forgetting
"I have to ask you, what did I see? I'm not sure if I fully understand what I'm supposed to be doing." I questioned Kagome.
"Well, what did you see?" She raised a brow.
"I think you know what I saw. I think you saw it too. There's no way you didn't." I insisted.
Kagome leaned back and let out a sigh, but when she turned her gaze back onto me, a smile crossed her face.
"You're right; I did see it. When she touched me, I saw it for that brief moment as well." Kagome replied.
"Do you believe it?" Asked she.
"I'm not sure anymore really; I don't know what to believe. I mean the end of the world that sounds pretty farfetched, even crazy. How can I even trust the credibility of it?" I questioned.
"That's a good question, but really all we can do is assume it's true. Regardless of where it came from, if we ignore it and it ends up being fact, you will have essentially damned the entire planet for your refusal to accept reality." Kagome nodded.
"You're right. I've let too many people die in my lifetime, I won't let anymore die with my second life." I clenched my fists in determination.
"Don't forget Chikaru-sama, sometimes people have to die in order for the rest of us to live." She glanced over at me while saying the last part.
I awoke again to the sound of a rather annoying alarm. With a swift movement, I silenced the dream killer. I always hated those damned things.
In the shower that morning, I allowed myself to think about the situation. Grace's power touched Kagome as well more than likely, and somehow these dreams seem rather true now. I know Kagome is dead; gone from the mortal world. That needed to sink in deeper, because as soon as I understood that, I could force myself to believe that the dreams were nothing more than my mind projecting her false existence.
That poor girl though, nothing could be worse than the fate that befell her; lying in a hospital, sick and dying; no one at your side, and still the mindset of a child. The only difference is that unlike a lot of others in that situation, Kagome had eleven years to accept death. She was preparing to die for so long that when it finally came, she probably drifted away without much of a second thought. It must have been peaceful leaving the world with no regrets like she did.
The warm water relaxed my muscles, if only it could do the same to my mind. I could feel myself slowly slipping away. Sanity and reality were soon to be out of my grasp.
Arriving at LA High that day, I felt a little bit dizzy from the walk to the school.
Sky, whom had been eager to get out of the house for quite some time swiftly pulled me along to get to the school faster. She really did enjoy this public school far more than Astraea, which is where we differed. I recall first leaving Astraea to come here years ago, and my reaction was almost the complete opposite. Sky just wanted to see the world.
"I'll see you at the end of the day big sister!" She beamed as she wrapped her arms tightly around me.
I returned the gesture and pet her head softly. Upon releasing her she darted to the school waving back at me. She tripped on the way to the door and made me laugh a little. She seemed to trip a lot actually, she was rather clumsy.
When I got to my office, I flicked on the television and zipped through channels. Nothing but garbage, I thought. It seemed all that was ever on television anymore was worthless shit that no one really wanted to see, but because of many posses a low mentality, we are all forced to be burdened with.
My channel surfing would be interrupted anyways, as a buzz came to my intercom. I flicked off the Television and answered the call.
"Yes?" I asked.
"Dr. Lauren, there's a parent here to see you. Shall I send her in?" Asked the secretary.
"Yes, let her in." I said.
Only seconds later did my door open, and my eyes adverted attention to the stranger who entered my room.
I blinked in amazement at what I was seeing. That tattoo.
I recognized that tattoo anywhere; a half-moon like shape with a bird footprint in the middle. That was indeed the Raven Clan emblem. More importantly was where it was located on this person, right on her cheek. There was only one member of the Raven Clan that I knew that had the emblem on her cheek.
Her hair and eyes only confirmed their identity. Red hair, which had been let down to below her shoulders, along with a pair of ruby eyes. The only thing that was missing was the ponytails for her hair, and death glare. She looked so much more feminine with her hair down, she even had eyeliner on. Even her choice of clothes changed her so much. She had on a black spaghetti strap top on, and a pair of blue boot-cut women's jeans. At the very bottom of this arrangement she was wearing a pair of white and black sneakers.
I had never seen her release her feminine side before, I could even see her pink bra straps around her shoulders. I was more in shock of her appearance change rather than her actually being here. She was just one of those people, who you remember always being one way, and if they ever change, you notice instantly.
"You must be Dr. Lauren", she said.
"You may call me Emily", I instructed, while gesturing for her to sit down.
She took the offer and sat in the cushioned chair in front of my desk. She even crossed her legs. That looks so unnatural.
"My name is Maria, but everyone calls me Rayne." She smiled.
I rarely saw her smile in our youth.
"Well, what is troubling you, Rayne?" Asked I.
"Do I know you?" Asked she with a puzzled look upon her face.
"I can't say that we've met before, perhaps you've seen me around the building before?" I asked trying to steer her away from the subject.
"Nah, this is my first time in this building since I graduated years ago." She answered.
"You seem really familiar", she added.
"Maybe I remind you of someone? Do you feel you miss someone?" Asked I.
"Actually, yes", she got quiet.
"Tell me more", I said.
"Well, the news just got to me, but I heard Chikaru Minamoto died, you may have heard of her from the news?" She looked up at me for a moment.
"The name rings a bell, she was that detective correct?" I tried not to make it seem too obvious.
"Yes, well we went to school together. She was a close friend of mine, and I was there when she died. I remember the police asking me so many questions, but honestly I don't know what happened that day. I don't understand who those girls were, or anything." She seemed a bit frustrated.
"Perhaps you feel responsible for her death?" Asked I tilting my head to get a better look at her face.
"I was supposed to be the one to do it. She pushed me aside and sacrificed herself. She always did that kind of shit; always trying to be a hero, and selfless and whatnot. Damn it, I shouldn't have let her do it." She growled.
"You can't blame yourself, she did what she thought was right, clearly she wanted you to live for some reason." I tried to calm her anger.
"I wish I had the chance to talk to her again. I never got to tell her I was sorry for how I treated her when we met. I never got to tell her how she changed my whole life." Rayne was clenching her fists.
"I'm sure she knew Rayne." I smiled.
I heard her let out a few sniffles. She was crying. Rayne, the toughest girl I knew, the leader of the Raven Clan, was crying. I thought it was impossible for such a thing to happen. Sure enough, I could see the tears hitting her lap. When I tried to get a better look, I could even see her eyeliner dripping down her cheeks. She looked like a completely different person. I didn't think I'd ever see her this vulnerable. It was a sight to see.
"I just wish I could have done something. I just want to know what all of this was for!" She was getting hysterical now.
"I don't even know why I'm telling you all this, but some reason I feel like I can trust you", she sniffed.
"It's okay." I smiled sheepishly.
Inside I felt guilty. I had put Rayne through more stress than ever she was able to handle. If Rayne had a hard time comprehending what was happening, I could only imagine what other people were feeling about the situation. Hurting people was something I didn't want to do, but it looked like I hurt more people than I thought.
"Rayne, I'm sure Chikaru would want you to be happy. If she was really your friend, I'm sure she'd want you to live happily. She was clearly a very selfless person; she did what she could to help the majority." I extended a hand to her from across the desk.
Selfless. I can't believe I let myself lie like that. I knew as a fact I was far from selfless. I put others lives in danger for myself, and even worse now that I have been given a second chance I continue to do so. Sky's life was in threat because of my actions, and I just kept her with me. I knew as a fact that it wasn't because she told me to, because I know that Sky wouldn't tell a soul if I told her not to. No, it was because I was lonely, and I wanted to have someone to make this journey with me.
I didn't deserve to be loved by anyone as much as Sky or Rei loved me. I had become a stranger to even myself. I didn't deserve Rayne's tears. I was fighting back tears of my own.
"She really was", Rayne smiled.
"I remember how she always looked on the bright side, no matter what happened to her. She was crafty, and resourceful." Rayne reminisced.
A tear almost escaped my eye. I was relieved to hear that Rayne remembered me for what I was, and not what I had become. She remembered the young innocent Chikaru, and not the beast that I became with my coming of age. I was a demon really.
Rayne took my hand for comfort. Her eyes looked up at me as she did. She squeezed lightly, and delicately. She had a very womanly touch to my surprise.
"Your hands are so soft, they feel so familiar." She gazed at me.
"I just use a lot of lotion", I lied looking away.
"You look so young, how old are you if you don't mind me asking", she didn't let her eyes leave me.
"Twenty-nine." I replied.
"You don't look a day over twenty", she laughed.
This seemed to be a reoccurring conversation. Everyone I met seemed to marvel at how young I looked. My appearance change must have really made me look that much younger.
"There was something you came in here for?" I changed the subject.
She let go of my hand embarrassingly.
"Right, sorry. I got a little side tracked there. I came here because I was wondering if you could admit one of my friend's kids into therapy for a little while. He's been having problems, and she told me to come down here for her." She smiled.
"So you're listed as a legal guardian for this child?" I asked.
"Yeah, her husband and her broke up a long time ago, so she came to live with me, and she signed me as the parents second guardian." She explained.
"Right, so who's the child." I asked flipping through my list of students.
She stopped me on a page and pointed. "That's her"
"He goes by the nickname of Ice." She added.
I recognized the last name. It was Thief's child.
"I'll make sure he's taken care of. You have nothing to worry about, I'm a professional", I smiled lightly.
"That's good to hear. I have complete faith in you doctor, even more so now after actually meeting you. Hard to believe this shithole school can afford to actually hire someone who knows what they're doing." She laughed.
"Well, I took it because I like working with children. I actually have a little sister enrolled here myself." I replied.
"Oh, which one is she?" Rayne asked curiously.
I pointed to a picture on my wall of me and Sky in front of the school. She was dressed to attend her first day, and I stood right next to her, only about three inches taller.
"She's adorable." Rayne smiled.
"Thank you. I think so too", I replied without facing Rayne, I kept staring at the photo.
"Rayne, you said you went to school here correct?" I asked.
"Sure did, my cousin used to work for administration, so I had access to pretty much everything in the school records." She bragged.
"Would you mind letting me get into those records, I have a few students that if I knew a little more about, I'd be able to be more helpful to them; though it's all off the record of course." I smiled.
"Sure, I'll let him know that you're cool to check out whatever you want. Anything I can do to help I'm all for." Rayne nodded.
"Thank you, I really appreciate it Rayne." I said.
"No thanks are necessary." She gave me a thumb up as she stood up.
A/N: And now we have Rayne. Also Chikaru now has access to the school records. As Lelouch would say, "just as planned".
FUN FACT: I was debating on whether I wanted to change the appearance of Rayne, but finally decided on it to sort of be a representation of how much Chikaru changed her character.