Dead or Alive
Chapter 25: The One
It wasn't the warm sunlight that bathed his body through the open window that woke him, nor was it the chattering of Rachael Ray coming from a nearby television set. It was the whir of an overhead ceiling fan that woke him from his long slumber. He blinked a few times until his blurry vision had subsided and the fan came into view.
It vibrated violently in the ceiling as if it was about to fall to the floor. The clicking of the fan's chains was driving him crazy. He sat up in an attempt to end the noise that was tearing at his eardrums. It was a bad idea.
Violent pains shot through every inch of his body. He felt as if a long knife had been thrust directly into his tailbone. The pain caused him to fall back against the sofa he was on as he groaned loudly. A loud shriek permeated through the room. The shriek was shortly followed by a thud and the noise of something wobbling around on the ground before coming to a halt. He wanted to see where it came from, but the large back of the beige couch obstructed his view. It seemed the woman on the nearby television was his only companion for the moment.
"Shit…oh no…what do I do?" He could tell it was a woman's voice, and a young woman at that. She must have been distressed over what she had dropped. He knew his sudden outburst of pain must have been what caused her to jump and she would be coming his way any minute. He hoped she wouldn't pose any threat as he was in no condition to fight her, or anyone for that matter. He then thought that that was a very odd thing to think.
His suspicion about her age was confirmed when she loped into view. She was beautiful. Not a womanly sort of noir film beautiful, but the girl-next-door type of beautiful. For all her beauty though she was completely disheveled. Her shoulder length brunette hair lay frazzled concealing half her face. Her visible eye was wide open in equal fright and astonishment. She wasn't wearing anything that made her appear threatening to him, just a simple white t-shirt and a pair of faded jeans. He did take note from her white t-shirt that she must have been very, very cold.
"I, I, I, you're, I'm awake!" the girl stammered.
"You're awake?" he asked.
"I mean. Ah. You're awake." She fumbled on a small table on the side of the couch out of the man's view. She was having trouble though since she refused to take her eyes off of him. "My father isn't home right now, but don't try anything funny I'm a black belt." She finally found what she had been looking for on the desk. She brushed her hair aside and pinned it with a bright pink hair band.
"What?" It pained him to speak. Every breath stabbed at his body.
"I didn't mean to sound rude. I was just, I didn't," she stopped for a second to calm herself. "My father found you and the doctor said we shouldn't move you and you were supposed to go to the hospital tomorrow but you're awake and you're not supposed to be!"
"I'm not supposed to be?"
"No, no of course you're "supposed" to be, but I didn't think you'd actually wake up. The doctor said you were in really bad shape. I should call my father he'll want to know!" She ran out of sight. A few seconds later she ran back in front of the TV. "I totally forgot I don't even know who you are! Who are you?"
"Would you calm down?" the man asked groaning loudly.
"Sorry I panic easily."
"I can tell. Now who are you?"
"My name is Hitomi." Hitomi sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the couch. "And who are you?"
"I'm…" and then it occurred to him that he hadn't the slightest idea of who he actually was. "I…I…I…"
"You're I?" Hitomi giggled.
"No. I don't…I mean…I have no idea," he frowned to himself.
"You don't know who you are?" she asked.
"I don't remember."
"Well at least you speak German. If you spoke some Asian language I'd be clueless," she smiled and knocked herself on the head, "well more clueless than I usually am that is."
"German…I'm in Germany?" he muttered. Hitomi looked at him blankly.
"Well…yeah. So you're not from Germany?"
"I don't know. I don't remember anything." The man squinted his eyes. No matter how hard he tried the only thing he could even think of wax the intense pain that ran the length of his body.
"Well my dad found you in the woods outside our town. You were beat up pretty badly. The doctor came by to look at you, said you should be transferred to the hospital for evaluation. They were going to take you tomorrow but they said you wouldn't wake up and now I don't know what to do."
"Weren't you going to call your father?"
"Oh yeah!" Hitomi hopped up and bounded to the kitchen.
"She seems friendly enough" he thought to himself. He hastily made the decision to try moving again. It didn't go as well as he'd hoped. Slumping onto his back once again he stared up at the wobbling fan. Whoever he was, and wherever he was, at least he was safe…for the moment.
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"You will stay with us until we learn something about where you came from. It is not much but it is the lease we can do." Hitomi's father leaned back in his lawn chair looking up at the bright sun. The handsome young man sat beside him cradling a glass of lemonade in his hands.
"It is more than enough sir, thank you."
"Think nothing of it. It is a lesson I teach all my students, to help those in need. Besides you're rather handy around the house," he laughed. It was true though, since he had been able to move two days prior he began doing anything around the house to help he could. Between mowing the lawn and fixing a leaking pipe he had found that he was rather dexterous with his hands.
With each passing day he had found his strength returning. Even his senses were getting stronger. Hitomi had dug out some of her father's old clothes to wear. He looked down at the vintage flannel shirt he was wearing and smiled to himself wondering why anyone would have ever bought such a thing.
"I see you're getting your strength back," said Hitomi's father.
"Yes. I attribute most of it to Hitomi's soup. She is a wonderful cook."
"She got it from her mother." Hitomi's father sensed the young man's burning question, "She passed a few years back. She was Japanese, incredibly beautiful, and the best darn cook you'd even seen. God I miss her."
"And Hitomi?"
"She's a strong girl both physically and mentally. She really got lost in her training when her mother passed. She's not so gung-ho about it anymore, I think the shock has kind of worn off. Hormones too you know, teenagers. Well speak of the devil." He pointed down the driveway. A rickety old white car that Hitomi had been given to drive was wobbling down the road. It pulled quickly into the driveway, scraping a fence post on its way which severed the driver's side mirror from the door. Hitomi rolled down the window and looked out at the small mirror which lay completely destroyed next to the car. "Sometimes I regret giving that to her."
"Hey come on!" Hitomi yelled waving her hand out the window. The young man and her father looked at each other. "Come on let's go to the mall we'll get you something that's not so ugly! Sorry daddy!"
Her father smiled and raised his palm in a sign of forgiveness. "I think she wants to play real-life Barbie and you're the new Ken." The young man gulped. "Nervous?"
"Should I be?"
"She has pretty good fashion sense…if you even get to the mall in one piece that is."
"What are you waiting for come on!" Hitomi yelled again. The young man sat down his glass of lemonade, stood-up, gulped, and slowly made his way toward the old white boat hoping that tomorrow maybe his mind would forget this too.
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"I hope you don't mind coming. It'll be fun. We can do all sorts of things. We'll make you look great." Hitomi rambled on swerving to and fro on the road. The young man clutched desperately to dashboard, his eyes wide in fear. Every time Hitomi narrowly missed a mailbox he cringed. "So what do you want me to call you? I'm sick of calling you John Doe, you need a name."
"I don't really care!" The man uttered each syllable under strained breath. He was starting to fear for his life. It was another ten minutes of agonizing terror before he could breathe a sigh of relief. The rickety old junker pulled noisily into a parking space, and the front bumper collided with a parking lot lamppost.
"Maybe I should just stick to my bike." Hitomi laid her head on the wheel.
"It wasn't that bad." He lied, patting her on the shoulder.
"It was terrible," she fidgeted with her denim jacket. "Well let's go."
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The man stood looking into the body length mirror. He had to admit he liked the way the long black leather trench-coat looked on him. It wrapped his upper body tightly giving him a sinister appearance. "I kind of look like a rock star."
"No rock star is complete without their shades." Hitomi slid a dark pair of slim sunglasses onto his face. "You look great!" said Hitomi smiling. Sexy came to mind too but she omitted that part. The man put his hands on his hips and tossed his hair to the side.
"You don't think it's a bit much?"
"Nuh-uh. Besides this way you can see the matrix."
"What?" he asked. She couldn't see his blank look behind the sunglasses.
"The Matrix. It's a movie…you've never seen The Matrix?" she asked.
"I don't think so…if I have I don't remember."
"We totally have to watch it tonight. Oh I'll make kettle corn. Trust me you'll love it."
"I still don't get what this movie has to do with my outfit."
"You look like the man character Neo. He's "The One" he sees the matrix. You'll understand."
"Do you?" he questioned. Hitomi looked shocked, then smacked him on the arm.
"Of course I get it."
"So you can explain everything to me that I don't understand right?" he pointed to his head to signify his memory loss."
"Er…wait that's it. I'll call you the one!" she exclaimed tactfully changing the subject. "It'll be our little secret."
The man nodded agreeing. He didn't dare say no, to see her happy face turn sour at his rejection was a thought that didn't agree with him. From that moment on he was simply "one" or to the non-German speaking world; Ein.
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"So did you have fun today?" Hitomi asked. She had wrapped herself around Ein's arm and walked with her head resting lightly on his shoulder. People stopped to stare at them; especially Ein. With his sharp good looks and the dominating presence of his outfit he looked as if he had stepped out of a magazine. Hitomi reveled in the attention and she was doing everything possible to show her ownership of the walking Adonis.
"Yeah. It was great Hitomi. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done."
"Think nothing of it," she smiled. When Ein came to a sudden halt she had to grab his chest to keep herself from tumbling over. "What is it?"
"What is he doing?" he asked pointing at a dimly lit arcade. Inside a rather lanky fellow was making rather strange sporadic movements on a raised panel.
"Oh that's Dance Dance. It's really fun you want to try?"
"Hmm," he murmured. He hadn't been truly physically active since he had awoken. It was picking at his brain to test if he had recovered his strength at all. "Why not." Hitomi led him by the arm into the arcade. After attempting to get a token machine to accept a wrinkled bill for the better part of a minute she finally resolved to find an employee. An acne ridden teen whom she had known from school gave her the tokens she needed. He walked off giving Ein a jealous, almost threatening glare.
"Ready?"
"As I'll ever be." Ein stepped up onto the platform. "So what exactly do I-"
"You just step on the arrows when the scrolling ones match the top row on the screen." Hitomi explained. Ein stepped on one of the arrows which lit up brightly on the metal panel beneath him. He tapped it again. The list of songs on screen began to scroll wildly as he tapped the arrows. "You have to select a song first dummy."
"Oh…" he tapped another arrow selecting whatever song he was currently on.
"Oh no!" Hitomi held out her hand. "That song is impossible. You accidentally put it on insane too. I'll pick a song next time. I take it you don't play a lot of video games?"
"I don't know." Ein responded, staring at the loading screen.
"I guess that makes sense. I don't either really. There's this one I have at home I really like though. It's a fighting game because I practice that kind of stuff you know. It's a bit fan-servicy and the story is a bit off the wall but you…" Hitomi trailed off. She gaped in disbelief.
Ein moved like the wind. The pad lit up like an electric lightshow as every step he landed nailed the arrow perfectly in time with the screen. The arrows scrolled so fast Hitomi could barely see more than a blur, but Ein continued to move as gracefully as a dancer, refusing to miss a single one. When the song finally came to a stop Ein spun around to be greeted by a mass of wide-eyed onlookers. Hitomi at the forefront gripped the safety bar of the machine tightly. "How did I do?" he asked.
"I…I…I…er…wow," was all she could manage. Time after time the crowd cheered for more, and each time Ein dazzled them by performing perfectly. Never once did he falter or show any signs of tiring. When an hour had passed Ein and Hitomi pushed through the crowd to escape the crowding mall.
"That was amazing," Hitomi panted. They jogged toward the car. "How did you do that?"
"I don't really know. It just seemed natural I guess. Everyone isn't like that?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"No, no they're not. You should come by my father's dojo sometime. I bet you'd be great at martial arts." Hitomi fumbled with her keys in the locked car door.
"Yeah sure," Ein looked at his clenched fist. "Who am I?"
"What?" Hitomi said sliding into the car. She reached over and unlocked Ein's door.
"Oh nothing…don't worry about it."
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Ein walked down the busy street taking in the sights. Everyday a little more came back to him. Nothing specific about his past, but bits and pieces of society began to surface. Despite his knowing nothing about himself he had managed to function pretty well with the help of Hitomi and her father.
Hitomi's family dojo was located near a tiny park just off the beaten path through the nearby Black Forest. Ein gazed up at the mighty forest, and the large hills that faded into the distance. "I wonder why on earth I ended up in there." With a feeling of incompleteness he sighed, then composed himself to see Hitomi.
Ein quietly slid open the front door of the dojo. Standing in perfect lines were rows and rows of students, with a variety of different colored belts. The only black belt in sight was Hitomi's who stood front and center training the other students. Ein knew that Hitomi's father, the dojo's master, was attending to other business and thus would not be there. It was for this reason he picked that afternoon to pay the dojo a visit.
Hitomi dismissed the students being as cheerful as ever. She made a point of telling each and every student how good they were doing before they left. Then wiping sweat off her brow she quickly shuffled over to the watchful Ein. "You just had to come when I'm doing lessons didn't you?"
"I can't stay in the house all day, especially when you're at school."
"Don't lie to me. You came so you could make fun of me," she pulled down her eye-lid and stuck out her tongue.
"I'm not. I'm not even really sure if I want to do this."
"Come on." Hitomi grabbed his hand and dragged him forcefully into the dojo. "You're too late for lessons. Besides you have to start at the beginning," she said poking him in the stomach.
"You're not going to stick me with little kids are you?" Ein moaned as he followed her into a back room. It was a rather large locker room complete with weights and a large sandbag.
"Don't give me any ideas."
"I thought this was supposed to be a dojo. What's with all the gym stuff?" Ein traced his finger along the cold steel of the weights.
"Martial arts help focus mind and body," she bent down and picked up a tiny weight, "but a good ol' Rocky Balboa style never hurt either!"
"Aren't you a bit too…delicate…to compare yourself to Rocky?" Ein asked. Hitomi blushed crimson and turned from his gaze.
"I…um…it," she stumbled over her words unable to get anything to come out straight. Finally in a focused effort she punched the sandbag hard. "It just never hurts ok?"
"Ok."
"See I'm not so bad." Hitomi threw furious hooks and jabs at the sandbag and ended with a spinning roundhouse. The sandbag smashed into the nearby wall and bounced back spinning wildly.
"Nice."
"Wanna try?" Hitomi motioned to the sandbag and stepped back.
"I suppose." Ein stepped up to the bag. Raising both fist to his face he stared the bag down. Then he thrust tapping the bag so lightly it barely moved. He threw a few more punches that an elderly woman wouldn't have been proud of.
"Are you joking me Ein? You can dance like crazy but you can't even throw a punch." Hitomi started to giggle.
"Shut up. I'm trying." He threw a few more failed punches. The sandbag twirled slightly on its chain. "Oh I give up." Shrugging he turned back to Hitomi.
"Like this." Hitomi drew back then with ferocious power lunged forward pummeling the sandbag with a right-straight. It smashed into the wall again bouncing back like rubber ball.
It was the returning sandbag that caught his attention. He could barely see the large sandbag from the corner of his eye, but he felt it coming and fast. It came to him then; instinct. Even though he knew it was a harmless bag of sand he could feel something tearing inside him to get out, something that warned him of danger. There were no more failed punches, only reaction.
Ein sprung into the air. The entire length of his body twisted creating a whirlwind of force. He caught the sandbag mid-rebound with his outstretched leg. It was such a furious blow he wrought that the sandbag split in two spraying sand everywhere. He landed gracefully totally unaware of what he had just done.
Hitomi spat sand from her mouth. "Wha…but…how?" she stammered.
"Oh no are you ok?" Ein rushed to Hitomi's side brushing sand from her hair.
"I think…I'm going to need a broom." She stood motionless staring down at the mess that littered the entire locker room floor. Then she turned her gaze to the panicked Ein. "Who are you?"
"I…don't know," he replied. As continued to pick sand from Hitomi's head his head ran rampant with questions. How had he done that? What made him do it? Was it instinct or something more? As he thought the last question he cringed, and for the first time since he had reawakened Ein felt truly scared.