** Finding You **
-- Author Notes --
Wow! I feel proud of myself. I actually updated. ^0^!! I usually never update after the first chapter. *sweatdrop* But I actually like where this is going. *-*!! That's another wow! I never like where my fics go. *sweatdrop* And again, much thanks to J-anne. Without your sick, delusional mind, I wouldn't be as far as I am now on this fic. *-*!! *glomp*
But anyway, sorry again for characters being OOC, specifically Toki-chan and Fuuko-chan. Gomen ne. *bows profusely* Forgive my mental illness. It is, unfortunately, a disease that cannot be fixed. Huhuhuhu…
This chapter is, I think, less sappy than the previous one. I was listening to something deeper, not anything corny. Say, "Deliver Me". I'm going to dispose of all my CD's. They're not good for the health system. They make you do stupid things, namely sitting your ass down on a swivel chair and writing until you have arthritis or something. *sweatdrop* Never mind. I'll just let you read now.
****
"Fuuko-chan! Over here!"
Fuuko looked in the direction of the voice that just called out to her.
That's my name isn't it? Fuuko?
…Or at least that's what I've been told…
"Fuuko-chan!" Running towards her was a very happy girl with shoulder-length sky-blue tresses kept by a white headband and hazy blue eyes. "Fuuko-chan," the girl was panting by the time she stood beside her.
"Hey, girl. Long time no see."
Fuuko just stared at her, not knowing what to say. She had been told her cousin, a girl about her age with sky-blue hair, would meet her at the terminal, but this girl seemed like a stranger.
"Fuuko-chan?"
"…gomen nasai…"
"Oh, Fuuko-chan. I totally forgot." The girl pursed her lips and looked down at her sandaled feet. Her cousin had amnesia and had no clue who she was. She had been instructed not to act too forward because it may be a disturbance to Fuuko's psyche, but she had completely forgotten. It had been a long time since she saw Fuuko, and this was usually what her common reaction would be. Right at that moment, she felt like slapping herself, but refrained from doing so and tried to approach Fuuko once more.
"Fuuko. It's me, Mai."
Fuuko gave her a small nod.
"Well, my car's parked in the garage. We should go then, ne?"
Fuuko just let out another nod and allowed the other girl to grab half of her bags and then followed in suite.
****
"Anou…Mai-san?"
Mai, who had been concentrating on her driving for the last 20 or so minutes from the airport, was caught off guard by her cousin's sudden breaking the silence. She averted her gaze from the road in front of her to Fuuko for a brief second before answering.
"Hai?"
"Do you know where my old house is? I've been told I used to live here before I moved to the U.S."
"Yeah, I do. It's not too far from my house, actually. Do you wanna stop by there?"
"Could we?" Her voice sounded so meek that Mai could have mistaken her for someone other than her dear cousin.
"Uhh…sure." Mai turned off of the main road and made a u-turn to go back a few blocks and entering a different district.
****
"How do you think Fuuko is doing? Should we call now to check up on her? According to my time, she should already be there." Mrs. Kayden was pacing back and forth in front of the counter in the kitchen while her husband was cooking up dinner.
"Whoa, calm down, hon. Let her at least settle down."
"But James…"
"Look, I promise we'll call her. Just give her a couple days to get comfortable and give yourself a couple of days to relax. You look terrible. The woman that I'm looking at right now is definitely not my wife, and I want her back."
Mrs. Kayden sighed and let out a smile.
"I suppose you're right, but two days. I'll give it two days, and then I'm going to call whether you like it or not, and you will not stop me."
"Alright. I won't. Now stop blabbering and help me with the cooking? It's not usually me doing the kitchen duties you know."
Mrs. Kayden let out a genuine laugh, one that Mr. Kayden hadn't heard since the party about two weeks ago. He smiled at the notion and watched his wife's deft hands mince the onions and carrots.
****
"Oh Fuuko…" Mrs. Kayden wept into her husband's chest as she watched the confused look on Fuuko's face contort into one of pain. Her husband said nothing but just held her tightly as he, too, continued to look at the girl on the hospital bed.
That was not the Fuuko that they had seen 12 hours ago. Her lovely tended hair that Mrs. Kayden had praised then was now nothing more but unattractive tangles. Her makeup had been smeared off and was replaced by small cuts and bruises on her cheeks. Round the top of her head were layers of white bandages, and they did not end there. On her left arm snaked even more bandages to hide the long and deep gash on her arm, and on her right were but a few patches of them to hide the needles penetrating her skin. The dress she had worn, was sitting neatly on one of the few chairs of the room but up close, one would be able to see all of the soot, blood and tears in them. This Fuuko staring at them was definitely not the Fuuko that they had seen at their home 12 hours ago.
"Mr. and Mrs. Kayden, we want Fuuko to stay another four to five days, just to let her recuperate some, and then we'll allow you to take her home. Have you decided whether or not you want her to go back to Japan?"
"We're going to take your advice and send her back…"
"But if things don't go right at all, I'll be the one to personally rescrew your head, doctor!" came Mrs. Kayden's threat.
"Garnet! Please!" Mr. Kayden tried to wipe away the mortified look on his face as he turned back to the doctor. "It looks as if it should be my wife on that hospital bed. I'm terribly sorry about her attitude. She's usually unlike this."
"That's understandable, Mr. Kayden. Oh, and before I forget. Please remind whoever it is that she will be staying with to refrain from sudden and surprising interactions. She should get used to them first before anything else, as is will be the case with you and Mrs. Kayden when she goes home with you." "Thank you, doctor."
****
Sitting on the dresser chair, Fuuko intently gazed at her reflection in the mirror of her new room.
Who are you?Fuuko noted that whoever was on the other side of that mirror had very sad, cobalt eyes that seemed quite lost and afraid. Whoever it was had soft-cream colored skin before she received all of those cuts and bruises that her clothes did so much to hide; whoever it was used to have lush pink lips before it, too, was inflicted with a few cuts. They didn't look as bad as they had when she had gotten to the Kaydens from that wretched hospital, but that didn't matter to her. How could it, when she couldn't even remember the real her.
Is that who I am? Why do I look so…so sad?
A mop of silky pink-purple tresses cascaded down her shoulders and back. As she looked down at her clasped hands on her lap, she noticed the bandage that was woven around her hand. She knew the rest climbed up her arm to her shoulder. When she had taken it off the very first time to get it changed, she nearly vomited. It wasn't exactly the most beautiful thing to see on the face of the planet. It really wasn't, but it's been healing, thank God.
It's still there.
She cautiously untangled her fingers and brought her bandaged hand to her face and delicately ran her slender fingers down her cheekbones before gently curling her fingers once around a chunk of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. She took one last glance at the girl in the mirror and couldn't miss the glint forming in her eyes.
Why am I crying?
I've been doing it a lot lately…
But why?
I have nothing to cry about…
…I don't even remember…
Fuuko let her arms slide down onto the wooden dresser table and placed her head into her arms, sobbing uncontrollably, at the same time wondering why her heart wrenched as bad as it did.
****
Mai and her mother, a shorter and stouter version of Mai, were working in silence, busily preparing the evening meal. Everything was silent except for the sound of steam whistling from the pots on the stove and the sound of a knife coming in contact with the chopping board.
Mai's mother wasn't at all surprised at the distance in her niece's persona. In fact, she had been expecting it. It just really tore at her insides to see the young girl in such a disturbing state. She looked almost unwilling when she first stepped into their abode; she looked lost.
Fuuko had not been more than seven hours with them, and she had only seen the girl once, and that was when she had entered their home and thanked the older woman for allowing her to live with them. After that, she ushered Mai to help Fuuko to her new room, and she hadn't seen her since then.
Usually, her niece would be in full spirits and would have no problem raiding their fridge. Mai's mother pitied the poor child, sincerely wishing that she didn't have to go through all of this, but when fate decides to do something and makes it final, there's no undoing it.
"Kaa-chan, do you think the old Fuuko will ever come back?"
"It all depends, Mai. We'll just have to be patient and see."
"It hurts me to see her like that. She looks so vulnerable." She felt her eyes begin to sting as tears formed. She tried in vain from letting them fall.
"Oh damn these stupid onions!"
"Mai!"
"Oops. Gomen ne, Kaa-chan."
Mai's mother just sighed and shook her head disapprovingly at her daughter.
"Look, dinner probably won't be for another hour or so. Why don't you go and take Fuuko with you to Shibuya or something? If she declines, then go and do whatever you teenagers these days like to do in your spare time. You have an hour to kill."
"Are you kicking me out of the kitchen?"
"Mai, there are times when I know I irritate you because I won't give you the time of day and let you out of this kitchen, but when I finally do, you dare to question me?"
Mai gave her mother a sheepish smile before trotting out of the room.
"Arigatou, Kaa-chan."
"Teenagers," she breathed, amusement seeping into her face.
****
"Hey, I'm really glad that you decided to come. Shibuya's a great place."
Fuuko continued to look out the window and watch the city lights pass her by.
Mai frowned momentarily at her cousin's constant lack of conversation, but when she took into consideration her current state, she began to think otherwise. She was thankful that at least Fuuko did accept her offer to go to Shibuya with her.
At first Mai had been skeptical. Her mind was pretty set that Fuuko would decline. She had found Fuuko in her new room sitting in front of the dresser table, her head buried in her arms, asleep. Just looking at her cousin's form made her slowly back out of the room, but just as she moved to slide the door close, she heard Fuuko stir and call out to her, asking what she needed. Mai was never the quietest of all beings on the face of the planet.
Her eyes had been a little puffy when she looked up at Mai, but that wasn't anything cold water couldn't fix, right? So Mai giddily grabbed the startled Fuuko up from the chair and shoved her into the bathroom so maybe she could fix herself up a bit.
Mai's mother, on the other hand, was just happy to see her niece out of the house and going some place. Having Fuuko cooped up in the house wasn't exactly what she wanted her niece to do the entire time she would be living with them. Maybe Mai could get her to open up again. She did have a knack for annoying the hell out of people until they finally did what she intended on having them do, and which in most cases she would get verbally killed right after.
"We'll go stop by for ice cream okay? I know January isn't exactly the best time to be eating ice cream, especially when it's already cold out, but nobody can ever turn down cold sweets, ne?"
The only sign that Fuuko gave Mai to indicate that she was still alive was a slight nod and a dusting of the sleeve of her white fleece sweater.
Mai sighed resignedly. Getting Fuuko to talk and actually carry out a normal people conversation was going to be harder than she thought. She stepped on the gas and accelerated, passing up more of the cars on the freeway. The sooner they get to Shibuya, the better.
****
They entered the automatic sliding doors that led to the inside of the shopping district and were met with thousands of other teenagers, literally. It must have been the official teenage hangout for all of Japan. In other words, Mai's heaven.
"So you wanna hit the ice cream first or do you wanna take a look around?"
"It doesn't matter. I'll just follow you."
"Oh come on, Fuuko. I brought you here so that you could kind of tour. Do you have any place of interest?"
"Ice cream sounds good," she replied dryly.
"Okay. Ice cream it is then."
As soon as they entered the ice cream parlor, Mai pointed out a table near the store window by the door.
"You wanna get the seats while I buy the ice cream?"
"Uh-huh."
"Any flavors in mind?"
"Right now, anything sounds good."
Mai mentally slapped herself. Fuuko doesn't remember her favorite flavor. Boy, being cousins sure did have its advantages. Being close, they used to do tons of things together, one being pigging out on ice cream. Usually Fuuko would always get cookies n' cream, so she decided on that and she'd just get herself a mocha-flavored one.
Fuuko lazily stared out the glass partition that separated the inside of the store to the rest of the shopping mall, one arm propped on the table as she placed her head against it. Her thoughts were still blank but her heart ached with a sadness she couldn't comprehend. Despite her wanting to cry, nothing came out. Her tears were spent, and there were no more to be produced.
She turned her head to look at where Mai was standing at the other side of the room. She was a very eccentric person but very kind. She tried so desperately to have her talk, and she was really the only friend she had right now. Fuuko began to wonder if the old her was anything like Mai. That she did not have the answer to.
Before she could delve into her thoughts some more, the sound of the bell above the doorway to the store chimed softly to announce the arrival of yet more customers. Out of human curiosity, she looked up to see who it was. A tall boy with long, silver locks and pale baby blues followed by a younger boy with spiky hair were shoved unceremoniously into the store by a soft-faced girl with hazel eyes.
"Mifuyu-chan!! Do you mind? I have an image to protect." The smaller, spiky-haired boy straightened out his shirt and looked about pretending that nothing had happened and walked casually up to the counter.
"Gomen nasai, Kaoru," she giggled and pushed the taller boy along. "Come on, Tokiya-chan. I know you want ice cream too."
"Onii-chan!! Please!" The girl, known as Mifuyu, just laughed as she continued to embarrass her brother.
Fuuko's eyes never left the one called "Tokiya". There was something about him that triggered a nerve in her somewhere as soon as she laid her eyes upon him. Just seeing him made her heart ache but at the same time skip a beat. Why, she didn't know.
Tokiya…
Why so familiar…
That thought was soon pushed away when she heard Mai plop down onto the chair opposite her.
"Did you miss me?"
Fuuko just raised an eyebrow and threw a weird look at Mai, who welcomed it with a laugh.
"Oh, Fuuko. I was just joking around. Here."
She shoved Fuuko's sugar cone in front of her face.
"I didn't know if you wanted single or double scoop, so I just settled with a double for you. You can always just throw it away if you can't finish it."
"Thanks."
Both girls sat in a silence that Mai was trying so desperately hard to endure. It was kind of hard to carry on a conversation when the person you were trying to talk to couldn't remember anything. There would be nothing to talk about for her. Nothing much, anyway, but Mai was desperate, so she'd have to settle with what little she had.
She was surprised to hear Fuuko's voice break through the silence though.
"Mai-chan, what was I like?"
"Nani desu?" Mai looked up momentarily from licking her ice cream.
"I mean, what was the old me like?"
Mai was taken aback at the question. Was Fuuko supposed to be asking questions like this? And more importantly was she supposed to be answering them? She was told she couldn't be too forward and bombard poor Fuuko with too many of the things in her past all at once, but one look at her cousin's almost pleading eyes, she could do nothing but give in to her unsaid pleas.
"Well," she began, "for one, you smiled a lot."
A wry smile tugged at Fuuko's lips, but she sighed, urging Mai to continue.
"You talked more, too. No. That's an understatement. You were a human chatterbox. We had to tape your mouth shut to keep you quiet, literally too."
"So different now, ne?"
Mai frowned.
"The old you will come back. I'm sure of it. We'll just give it some time, ne?"
Fuuko only nodded, skepticism written clearly across her face.
"Oh Kami-sama! Please tell me we're not back to the whole nodding business again. Only heaven knows how greatly you've tortured me today with that simple gesture."
Fuuko blinked several times before catching on to Mai's teasing and she stuck her tongue out at the blue-haired girl.
"There! See? The old Fuuko is coming back."
Mai began to laugh and Fuuko couldn't help but join in along with her. And Fuuko had to admit that it felt so good to laugh. At first, the action seemed alien, but as she let herself just drown in its contagion, she finally felt the warmth emanated from it.
"Oops."
"Nani ga?"
"Fuuko, do you wanna be a darling and get some tissues. They're right by the counter. I think I lost my snack."
Fuuko rolled her eyes good-naturedly before pushing back her seat and walking up to the counter, ice cream in hand.
Reaching out her hand over the counter to grab a handful of napkins, she felt someone else's hand come in contact with her own. Startled she pulled her hand back, as did the stranger.
"Gomen ne. I wasn't paying…"
Glancing up, her eyes locked with the shocked pair of baby-blues of the young man who had befuddled both her psyche and heart.
Just as Tokiya was about to get another word or two in, he was cut off by Mai, who had walked up and over from her seat.
"What's taking you so long, Fuuko? They're just…" At the sight of Tokiya, she felt her stomach go ill. He doesn't know…
Would it be all right to introduce these two once more and say, "Oh Fuuko, here. I'd like you to meet your old boyfriend that you dumped, and Tokiya, well this is Fuuko and she has amnesia. You two can get along rather quaint now, ne?" Yeah right! She needed a way to get Fuuko out of the scene so she could talk to Tokiya alone without arousing Fuuko's suspicion.
As if on cue, Kaoru dashed on over to Tokiya whining all the while.
"Tokiya-kun! Where are the napkins? All the ice cream's dripping down my hand." The boy, not being very careful, tripped over his own feet and sent the ice cream flying and landing in a clump of goop on Fuuko's sweater.
Fuuko still looked gone before her head decided to clear up, her hands now fingering the stains on her attire.
"Fuuko-chan! Your sweater!" Mai grabbed a handful of napkins from the counter and handed them to Fuuko, while Tokiya scolded the younger boy for his clumsiness.
"Why don't you get cleaned up in the bathroom? I'll take care of my own mess." Mai ushered her off and made sure Fuuko had gone in before reverting her attention to Tokiya.
"Tokiya-kun. We need to talk." She looked down at the smaller boy and added, "Alone."
"Geez. I can take a hint. I know when I'm not wanted." Sourly, Kaoru turned and trotted his way back to the table where Mifuyu was sitting and paying an unusual amount of attention to her ice cream.
"Arigatou, Kaoru-kun," she called to his retreating back before looking back at Tokiya.
"So? What do you have to say that's so important that you had to get rid of the small fry?"
"Fuuko."
"Fuuko?"
"Hai." She took in a deep breath before resuming her talk in the hopes that whatever she intended to say would come out the way she wanted it to. "Look, Tokiya. You can't be too forward with Fuuko. She's not the same Fuuko you knew two months ago."
"Run that by me one more time."
Mai bit her lip and looked up at Tokiya hesitantly. Her mind was debating whether or not she should tell him or not, the final conclusion being the former.
"Fuuko and her parents got into a car accident in the U.S. A really bad accident. Her parents…" She looked down dejectedly, and Tokiya took the hint.
"I understand, Mai-mai."
"I feel really bad for Fuuko. And what's worse is that she can't even remember. She was lucky to come out of the accident alive, but at the cost of her memory."
"Fuuko…"
"Yeah, Fuuko." Mai let out a sigh and looked back up at Tokiya who was staring blankly at the door that led to the women's bathroom. "It's best if you just don't tell her of your past relationship until she's really ready…if she ever will be. It might be better if you just back off for a while, ne?"
When he didn't say anything, Mai took it as a sign that he did understand but he didn't want to grasp that fact.
"Ne, Tokiya-kun, Fuuko will be okay."
His response was a just a slow nod to indicate that he heard her, although it looked as if his mind was somewhere far, far off.
"What is it with the people I meet today and nodding? It's really starting to tick me off. This must be some kind of twisted work formulated by people who want to go against me."
"Nani? Are you feeling okay, Mai-mai?" He raised an eyebrow and looked at her as if she were crazy.
"Never mind," she breathed, rolling her eyes.
"Whatever, then. I'll see you around." He turned and headed back to his table with his sister and Kaoru, all the while Mai looking at him with a heavy heart.
"Gomen nasai…Tokiya-kun."
** Final Notes **
Okay, so maybe this chapter isn't as good as the first one. It sounded kind of broken, ne? ^-^;; *sigh* Gomen. I'll try to make the following chapter better. *groan* Highly unlikely, but I'll give it my best shot.
And about Fuuko's hair. Hehe. I was gonna get her hair cut in this chapter, but you know what? I kind of didn't want to anymore. Maybe I will…later. *sweatdrop*
And of course, disclaimers. All characters belong to me. Nyahahahahaha. I'm kidding. Don't sue me. I only have uhh, twenty bucks. ^-^;; RnH characters belong to Anzai Nobuyuki-sama, including my beloved Toki-chan, unfortunately. Huhuhuhu… But James, Garnet, Mai-mai, and Mai's mother (the eccentric people) are orig characters and belong to me. Yeah, they have my copyright stamped on the butts. Go and check if you like. Kidding. *sweatdrop* Well, that's it. I wuff you, buh-bye!!