When All Was Lost...

Chapter Twenty-Four

24

Scattered

BOOM! BANG! CLASH! CLATTER!

These were all the sounds I could hear as I fell backwards under the weight of an ash-haired male that held me tight in a blue leather embrace. It seemed he caught us both in time as he landed on his knees and held me up against his chest.

"Akarii..." He spoke my name between his shaking sobs,"We thought you were dead!"

I didn't understand my own actions. My hands trembled, gripping to the back of his leather jacket. All I could feel was loss...confusion...and the sting of tears. As though I had finally been found.

"Yusei...I'm scared..." I tried to muster out my words but it seemed my emotions remembered more than I did.

"It's okay!" Yusei said pulling back happily,"You're safe now! You're here! A-And Crow!"

I felt the shock jolt through me once again.

"W-Wait-"

"Crow! Does he know!? We have to tell him-" As quickly as he stood, he just as quickly met the ground once again in a stumble as I gripped at his clothing and tugged him back.

"Akarii!?" Yusei stammered, in surprise of my sudden reaction.

"I'm sorry!" I panicked and quickly released him,"Just..please, please don't tell Crow anything yet-"

"What...? Why!?" he blinked,"Crow has been worried sick about you!" he said to me,"For 3 years he worried, we all did-Why don't you want him to know you're okay?"

"That's what I was trying to explain before Yusei..." said Rally as he entered in quietly and began to pick up the clutter that fell from Yusei's tackle into me.

"This...is Akarii...but there's something odd about her..." he said awkwardly.

"What do you mean, 'odd' Rally?" Yusei blinked in confusion gathering quickly to help him clean up.

"Well...not in a bad way." Rally blinked,"Well I mean it's not exactly good either..."

"What is it, Rally!?"

"She seems to have amnesia, Yusei." said Nervin. This got Yusei's attention and he jolted and glanced back at his friend.

"That's right." said Rally,"See I suggested to take her to Crow too...but she seemed real scared about it..."

"Because she doesn't remember him." Tank sighed sadly.

"...I see." this news was unsettling but he took in deep breaths and spoke calmly,"Do you remember me?" he asked me, the weight of his eyes on mine was almost unbearable.

"I remember...some things." I muttered softly,"Just not...everything.

"I see." He approached me carefully and took my hand in his, pulling me to my feet from the dirty floor and sitting me on the couch next to him.

"All right Akarii." he said to me softly," I want you to tell me everything you remember." he said in a gentle tone,"I'll do my best to fill in the blanks."

"Okay." I sighed,"I warn you...it's not a lot, but I'll do my best to recall what I can."

It was a long conversation. I poured everything out to him that I could recall.

How I was running away from somewhere. How I hopped a barge and wound up here in search of someone. All the way up to the point where I passed out in the alley and I was found by Rally.

"That's a lot to take in..." Yusei stated in a huff. He pinched the bridge of his nose trying to comprehend it all.

"There are a lot of blanks here Yusei...and I don't know how to fill them."

He sighed softly, twirling his thumbs together.

"Whatever you were running from...I think you put up a mental block to it."

"A mental block?" I blinked,"You mean...I'm doing this to myself?"

"I'm not entirely sure." he blinked as he brought his folded hands to his chin,"But it seems likely. From what you tell me, about moving on instinct like something you know but don't remember...that's just what it feels like to me." he sighed and leaned back on his hands, blue eyes glancing up to the ceiling,"That person you were looking for...I'm almost certain it was Crow."

"You think so?" I blinked,"Why do you think that's it?"

"Well...because that's what your instinct always did..." he said softly,"Even when you did remember."

I turned to him and listened carefully.

"You and Crow were really close, ever since we were all kids," he said softly."He was your best friend even before I came along." he chuckled,"Whenever you were scared, or needed help...you always ran to Crow."

I would close m eyes and listen to his words as he went on to tell me stories of our past. Childhood memories I could only vaguely remember came across to him so vividly and sometimes I could match some of the content. While I listened to his explanation, I would think about the things he said. The more I thought about it as he went on, the more it somehow made sense to me. I would even begin to match the many voices to proper faces. Images would flash through my mind of scattered memories and I would open my eyes once more to reality and sigh.

"If that's true then, shouldn't he be the one I remember most?"

It felt the opposite to me. It was true that 'Crow' rang some things in my mind. but when I tried to match the memories with the pictures Yusei would draw, it came across different. Like static from an old television, to a constant ringing in my ears. His face would be blurred out, the one called 'Crow'.

"I think you do remember, Akarii." Yusei said softly."I think you remember him so much that he is more of a natural feeling to you now, than a person like me or Jack."

I twitched at the mention of the name Jack. Something about it sent shivers through me...but at the same time it hurt my heart.

"Look, I'm not gonna force you to go anywhere today." he said softly placing a gloved hand onto my head."You've had a long day...and a lot going on in your head." he sighed,"I won't tell Crow for now...But you should go to tell him eventually. He might even be able to help even better than I can."

"...I just need more time to figure out what's going on in my head." I sighed," I can't remember him, but somehow I do know that he meant a great deal to me...and if it's the same for him then..."

"...Then you don't want to go to him and tell him you don't remember." Yusei sighed,"I understand to an extent, but I also feel like he could help." He shifted his gaze over to me,"Crow is your friend Akarii, he'd never turn you away."

I didn't know how to respond to this.

"I just...want a chance to remember...on my own."

"I'll give you a little time." He said softly,"But eventually, you really should find Crow and talk to him yourself."

Yusei's sighs were heavy. I could hear the guilt of keeping this secret weighing on him in his voice as he spoke. If I'm being honest, it was starting to weigh on me too. I could feel my hands shake when suddenly one of them was engulfed in the warmth of a leather grip. Regardless of what was going on with me right now, I knew he was loyal, and that I could put my trust in him.

"Don't worry about it right now." he said softly, squeezing my hand in his,"You can stay here." He soon released my hand and peeled away his jacket which he then draped over my shoulders,"For now...you should get some rest." he said as he stood,"Don't try to rush anything...your memories should return in their own time."

That was the last thing he said before he walked out. Like me, he also had a lot to ponder. I sat alone on the broken couch, draping myself into his jacket as I lay, closing my eyes and just letting everything around me fade into the darkness behind them.

To Be Continued