Author's Note: Finally managed to get to writing this, but don't expect many updates since I'm an exchange student in France now, and it's going to take a while for me to fall into routine and get enough time to write this; let alone my other fics! I'm just going to continue it, since making a whole new fic would really be meaningless. Just know that I'm going to be editing the fic! If you want to know who the killer is, then I advise that you all read chapter 23 again and think about what Kaoru saw and realized. More clues from now so that it'll be more and more obvious who the killer really is.
Here's a new summary so you guys get an idea about what's going to happen.
New Summary: One's mind tends to forget things that are the most important, and tends to remember things that weren't suppose to be remembered. Now that Kaoru knows who the killer is, now that the killer knows that she knows their secret, he/she wants to keep her knowledge a secret. Secrets are safe between two people…if there's only one alive….
Thank you all for the reviews! Vous êtes tous si merveilleux !
To Fannie-dono: Joyeux Anniversaire !
Chapter Twenty-Four: Remembering
"You're kidding right?" asked Sanosuke for the tenth time that day as he and his boss sat in the waiting room at the hospital. They had rushed over to the hospital in the limo once the ambulance came to pick Kaoru up and drive her back to the emergency room.
"That's what she said. She was muttering about the killer, and…. I'm just as confused as you are Sano," said Kenshin as he rubbed his temples.
"You need to relax man, she only fainted," stated Sano as he threw his suit over his right shoulder and stood up.
Kenshin only sighed as he played with his hands, his sleeves folded up and his suit behind his chair as they waited in the empty room.
"Hate hospitals," muttered Sano as he looked around the white room and the noise of the machines from the rooms ringing in his ear.
"You've been here more than anyone else," noted Kenshin as he looked up at his friend.
"Sure I've been here plenty of times for my fists when I got into fights, but this place still creeps me out. It's... too quiet and white," said Sano as he internally shivered.
"That's how all hospitals are like," said Kenshin as he stood up beside his friend.
"That's why I hate them!" said Sano as he glared at his boss.
"Then you can go home if you hate them so much," snapped back Kenshin, he wasn't in a very good mood today.
"I'm here because Missy is here, and she needs moral support," said Sano with dignity.
"You just said that she only fainted," pointed out Kenshin mockingly.
"Doesn't mean that I can't worry about her," said the employee.
Kenshin only rolled his eyes and slouched into a nearby seat, but quickly stood when Kaoru's doctor came in, and smiled when he saw that it was Katsu.
"Hello Himura, Sano," said Katsu as he looked at them in his white coat and took off his gloves.
"What's up with the gloves man? She just went unconscious," said Sano; now worried for Kaoru.
"It's required that all doctors where gloves and masks when handling their patients in this hospital, so that we don't catch anything or give anything," explained Katsu as he pulled off his mask.
"So how is she Katsu?" asked Kenshin anxiously.
"It seems that she must have just run too fast and when one runs their heart beat increases, and it seems that her heart beat went faster than a heart attack. Though she easily recovered from that, it was something else that worries us," said Katsu solemnly.
"What is it?" asked Sano for the silent redhead beside him.
"We're giving her a CAT scan to try and see if we can confirm our theory," said Katsu.
"That theory would be?" asked Sano, growing impatient.
"That she has amnesia, but we don't exactly know the cause of it," said Katsu in a low voice so that only they could hear.
"WHAT?" asked Sanosuke; he couldn't believe his ears, since when did running and fainting ever cause anyone to temporarily lose their memory?
"Do you guys know anything about what might have happened before she fainted?" asked Katsu as he looked at the grave Kenshin for an answer, instead of the enraged Sano.
"She kept repeating that she knew who the killer was," said Kenshin, his voice barely above a whisper.
"The sudden knowledge might have placed her in such a shock that she could have resulted in her having amnesia. It's happened before; emotional trauma can result in amnesia as well," stated Katsu as he rubbed his chin, acknowledging that he now understood the reason his patient was the way she was.
"Is she awake?" asked Kenshin.
"She woke up a few minutes ago; you are free to see her in room 411. I'll go cancel the CAT scan since we already know the reason for her memory loss. Have you called her relatives?" asked Katsu before they left in a rush to see Harvard graduate.
"She has a grandpa, but we don't know his number," said Sano when he and Kenshin got their coats, quickly placing them on before reorganizing themselves so that they'd look proper when they saw Kaoru.
"I'll have my nurse look up her medical records for the phone number," said Katsu as he bowed to them and allowed them to leave.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Misao waited outside of Starbucks, her back on the brick building with her black braid bouncing in the wind as she waited for a certain smiling man to come out of the store with their cups of coffee. Sighing impatiently, she quickly looked at her watch that read 3:00 P.M. and pushed back a lock of hair that managed to escape its prison from her hair tie.
"You could have just come in," said Soujiro when he came out in his blue suit with two cups of cappuccino.
"Well I don't like it in there, it's way too crowded; I'd rather be out here in the nice clean air than suffocate in there," said Misao as she smiled and grabbed her own cup.
"Clean air in Tokyo? Well at least in there you'd be surrounded by the aroma of coffee than the polluted air out here," said Soujiro as he flipped out his car keys to his new blue BMW.
"But in there you get all hot and sweaty," protested Misao as she hoped inside the car once Soujiro pressed the unlock button.
Rolling his eyes, Soujiro got in the driver's seat and placed his own drink in the cup holder before starting the engine.
Misao only sipped her coffee as she looked out into the road, watched as she saw a white Lexus pass them with three occupants within. But before Soujiro pulled out, Misao's cell phone rang.
"Makimachi Misao here!" cried the girl once she placed her cup in the cup holder behind Soujiro's.
"Misao, get your weasel butt down here now!" cried a loud and angry voice of a certain kitsune.
"What is it Megumi? Where are you?" asked Misao now worried once she heard the concern in her cousin's voice.
"I'm at the office, and Kaoru was acting all weird before she left the building. Then when I raced down after her I saw that she was placed in a lift in an ambulance, and when I asked the people near by they only said that she fainted in the middle of the road! We've got to get to the hospital, you have to pick me up!" said Megumi; it was obvious that she had been over her head in apprehension for the tanuki.
"I'll be right there, just relax. I'm sure that Kaoru will be alright. You just got out of your coma, you need to calm down," said Misao as she worried about her cousin's health.
"Just hurry Misao," said Megumi, her voice barely above a whisper as she hung up.
"Back to M.R.S. and quick," ordered Misao as she looked at Soujiro seriously, and thanked the heavens that he had heard her whole conversation so that she didn't have to explain.
You better be alright Kaoru. Thought Misao as Soujiro went in the other direction that the Lexus had come; the coffee completely forgotten.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Kenshin walked through the halls looking for the room labeled 411, his pace quickening as he grew more anxious to find the certain sapphire orbed girl. He couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty for her being in the hospital, even though he kept repeating that there was no reason that it would be his fault. But when his mind kept going to back what she kept repeating before she blacked out, he felt the guilt threaten to drown him. If he hadn't brought her to the ball and let her see the body, then she wouldn't have blanked out the first time and be so determined to do Sano's case, and she wouldn't have lost her memory for suddenly realizing who the killer was. He knew that it was wrong to think like that, but he didn't know what he'd do if anything seriously bad happened to her, because she was the best thing that had happened to him in his life.
"Slow down man!" shouted Sanosuke from behind him as he ran to catch up with the amber eyed man, who seemed to be running faster than lightning.
"SHHHH!" hissed a nurse that Sano had passed when he was yelling.
Quickly apologizing, he quickly caught up to the redhead who had suddenly stopped before a door. Looking at the door, he realized why the shorter man stopped, it was room 411.
Kenshin brought a shaky hand to the door knob and slowly turned it before entering the dim lit room. He could hear his heart beat in his ears as he walked deeper into the room, his eyes scanning the room and taking in every detail, from the location of the machines, the position of the T.V. in the left corner, and the bed just across from it.
"Whose there?" asked a frightened voice from the right, it were as if the girl on the bed had just come out from a traumatizing experience.
"It's me…. Himura Kenshin, your b-b…. Your friend," said Kenshin as he walked in closer until he was face to face with the pale looking woman.
His eyes took in every curve, positioning of her hair, and description of her profile. Her lavender locks spilling over her shoulders and covering some of her face, the white gown of the hospital pulled tightly together to her with her hands near her chest, and her sapphire depths were glazed over in confusion as he looked at her. He forced himself to look at her, to restrain himself from hugging her in relief, even if he knew that she was going to be alright, it was just comforting to know that she really was.
"M-my friend?" whispered the girl as she met his eyes, the innocence reflecting from them.
"Yeah, and I'm your friend too; Sagara Sanosuke," said Sano when he managed to get closer so that she could make out his outline in the faint light.
"Y-you are?" questioned the girl as the hold on her blanket around her loosened and she looked at the two with a small polite smile.
"Yes… Yes we are. You can trust us," said Kenshin as he moved closer to her as if she were a scared kitten that would scratch out at any moment if she felt threatened.
Kaoru only nodded as Kenshin sat on the bed with her so that they were a few inches apart and Sano was able to sit at the edge of the bed so that he could see them both.
"Do you remembering anything?" asked Kenshin as he gently moved her violet locks out of her face and tucked it behind her ear.
Kenshin only smiled at Kaoru's innocence as he saw her shake her head and turn a tinge of pink in embarrassment from the attention that he was giving her. Even if the man said that he was her friend, she couldn't help but feel shy in front of him. It was as if they were meeting each other all over again.
"That's alright; you'll get back your memory soon enough Missy. But until then every one of your friends are going to help you. They should be coming soon," said Sanosuke with his trademark grin, causing the helpless girl to blush another shade of pink.
"They?" asked Kaoru in a mere whisper as she looked at the man confused.
"You have tons of friends, and fans too," added Sano with a great big grin.
Kaoru cocked her head to the right, causing her ebony terraces to cascade towards the bed in layers, her ocean depths staring at him for an answer, as if asking him why she had fans and who all her friends were. Her innocence was in a way, very scary towards the older man who quickly fell silent and looked towards his boss for an answer.
"It's a long story, and you don't have to worry about anything anymore. You just need to relax and enjoy yourself until your memory returns," said Kenshin with an encouraging smile.
"I lost my memory? How?" asked Kaoru as she turned to indigo eyes to meet startled amber ones that she had caught off guard.
"That doesn't matter anymore! Just don't worry about that Missy, you just sit back and let us worry about that. You just woke up, you need to rest," covered Sano as he stood up.
"Oh," said Kaoru as she nodded, although she was still a bit lost.
"I'll just leave you two alone," said Sano as he walked towards the door.
"Where are you going?" asked Kaoru; her voice still held uncertainty as if she were still deciding whether or not they were her friends.
"To get some food, we came here just before we were going to go to lunch you know," said Sano with a grin as he closed the door silently behind him.
Kenshin looked at Kaoru and felt her fidget uncomfortably from his gaze, realizing that she was still judging him; he decided to get himself a cup of water out of the sink.
"Don't," said Kaoru as she grabbed his elbow and turned to him with pleading eyes.
"I'm just going to get some water," said Kenshin comfortingly as he patted her hand coaxingly.
Kaoru only shook her head and tugged onto his hand.
"What's wrong?" asked Kenshin as he turned around and looked at her for an answer.
"He's there," said Kaoru as trembling fingers wrapped around his elbow; her eyes falling towards the darkness.
"Who's there?" asked Kenshin as he tried to get her to talk to him, there was obviously something bothering her from the way that she was shivering.
"Him, he's in the shadows. Lurking in the night," said Kaoru, her voice small and terrified as if she were reliving a nightmare.
"Kaoru, tell me who he is," said Kenshin, his eyes scanning her face for an answer but was only given a glazed over stare in return.
"I don't know…. But whenever he's near, it's really dark…. Then there's a big white light, and he takes away their soul," said Kaoru as she looked straight through him and beyond; her voice barely above a murmur.
Kenshin's brain began to think about her words, trying to link what she said to all that has happened. Like a crack of a firecracker, he realized that she was thinking about the murderer of Akira, and couldn't remember who the killer was because she had forgotten. But her own mind was slowly piecing the puzzle back together in her brain, but she couldn't figure it out completely because something was missing in the back of her mind.
"Tell me what else you remember Kaoru," ordered Kenshin as he moved away her hand from his elbow and squeezed her hand tightly.
Kaoru only shook her head as she shut her eyes tightly, her mind mystifying her further as she thought about it.
The girl screamed and threw her arms around the man before her as the loud bam of the door slamming open rang threw the room. She shook her head as tears flowed out of her eyes, the noise bringing back horrific images before her.
"Where's Kaoru?" asked a loud voice from the door as a few figures came into view at the door.
"For the love of…." Began Kenshin as he glared at the ebony haired girl at the door and massaged Kaoru's back with his hand; trying to calm her down.
"Sorry," whispered the girl as she walked in with two others behind her, her long braid swaying with her body as she walked in.
"What happened to Kaoru?" asked the man behind the women, the usual smile gone from his features.
Looking at the scene before them, the three knew that something was obviously up. They all stared at the shivering girl in the arms of the amber eyed man; concerned filled them as they saw that the 24-year-old was crying in Kenshin's shoulder for some reason that they had missed. Guilt flooded them as they realized that they were the cause of Kaoru screaming.
"She has amnesia, and she was just about to tell me something important, when someone banged the door open," seethed Kenshin as he glared at the apologetic Misao.
"What? How did she get amnesia if she just fainted?" asked Soujiro as he pulled up a chair next to Misao, who sat before the board of the bed so that they could see Kaoru and Kenshin.
"I'll tell you guys later," said Kenshin, as he nodded towards Kaoru, indicating that he didn't want to tell them in front of her.
"Does she remember you?" asked Megumi from the way that Kaoru was clinging to him.
"No, but she knows that I'm her friend," said Kenshin as he managed to get the girl to stop shaking and settle down into his arms.
The others nodded in understanding.
"Did the doctor say that she could go home today?" asked Misao in a whisper so as not to bother Kaoru again.
"I didn't ask him yet," said Kenshin as he eased Kaoru off of him, but only managed to get the girl to wrap her arms around his waist tighter.
"I'll go ask…since you seem to be caught up in something," said Megumi with a grin as she quickly got out of the room before the guy could fire her.
"Kaoru…. It's me, Misao. Do you remember me?" asked the 24-year-old as she got up from her chair and sat to the left of the couple.
The scared girl only shook her head in Kenshin's shoulder, not wanting to look at anyone. It was as if the sound had shaken her up too much to trust anyone else from that point on. Her mind was only able to register the ones that told her to trust them with their smiles as friends and everyone else as enemies; everyone that came from the dark where she couldn't see them were her enemies, she hated the dark.
"She's in a fragile state Misao," comforted Soujiro when he realized that the other girl was going to cry as well from the thought that her best friend had forgotten her.
"I know," said Misao, her voice cracking as she turned away and walked towards the window, trying not to show anyone her tears. She knew that she shouldn't be crying, that Kaoru's memory loss was just temporary, but they had been through so much and the thought of being forgotten was painful.
"She's going to be alright," said Soujiro as he got up and moved a hand on her shoulder.
Misao only nodded as she moved her own hand over Soujiro's and squeezed it in a silent thanks.
"I got the food…. Whoa, did I miss something?" asked Sano as he opened the door with his hands holding a bag full of food from the hospital kitchen.
"A little help?" asked Kenshin when Sano placed the food down on the table beside the bed and looked around tense room.
"Sure," said Sano as he moved a hand on Kaoru's shoulder, persuading her to let go of Kenshin and rest on her bed again.
Kaoru only shook her head as her grip on Kenshin tightened.
"It's me Missy, Sanosuke. You can trust me. There, you see, it's Sano from before. Now let me help you get off of Kenshin before you suffocate the guy to death," teased Sano as he slowly got her to loosen her grip enough to allow him to lift her off Kenshin and back onto the bed.
"Thanks," said Kenshin as he moved a blanket over her lithe form and moved the stray hair from her face, and whispered her to go to sleep.
Nodding, the little girl closed her eyes and gradually went into a deep slumber.
"Did you get anything out of her?" whispered Sanosuke when he quietly opened the bag of food.
"She kept repeating what I told you she was before she blacked out, just that this time she kept saying something about someone being in the shadows. I'm not sure, but I think that a part of her mind is still thinking about what she was last thinking, if you know what I mean," said Kenshin as he sat down near the table, and nodded a thanks to Sano who gave him a box filled with a burger and fries.
Misao turned to face Kenshin and then looked back at the sleeping form on the bed. She had a feeling that Kaoru knew something important, but had just forgotten.
"What else did she say?" asked Misao as she walked towards Kenshin.
"She didn't get a chance to tell me anything else," said Kenshin as he narrowed his eyes at her, causing the girl to go red with guilt and embarrassment.
"Kenshin," warned Soujiro in a low voice to his friend and boss from behind Misao, he was being too judgmental and insensitive about Misao's feeling, and Soujiro knew that Misao was already drowning in an emotional turbine.
"What I meant was that she doesn't know what exactly she was talking about," corrected Kenshin when he got the grim look of friend; one thing that he learned from his time with the man before him was that you never wanted to get him angry.
Misao only mouthed an 'oh' as she turned to face Kaoru again.
"Just eat weasel girl, you look like you're about to collapse from exhaustion. It's not good for a girl to look ten years older than her age you know," mocked Sano as he shoved an order in her face with a grin.
The 16-year-old look alike only glared at the man, but took the order anyways.
"Your welcome," said Sano sarcastically when she didn't say thank you, but he knew better than to shove it in her face to say it, and that her glare was as good enough a thank you as he was going to get from her.
A knock at the door took the attention of the occupants of the room, and they all stood when someone that they didn't expect entered the room.
"What are you doing here?" asked Kenshin as he walked over to his uncle.
"Well there was a crowd in front of the building that I happen to work for, and our best lawyer was all over the news," said Hiko as he looked over his nephew and to the girl on the bed, his deep voice echoing through the room and his aura demanding respect.
"Kaoru has amnesia," said Kenshin seriously as he looked into his uncle's eyes.
"Amnesia?" questioned Hiko as he raised a brow.
"Temporary memory loss," explained Sano as he walked up behind Kenshin.
"I know what it means rooster head, I was asking how she got it," said Hiko with a smirk as he gained a glare from the other man.
"The shock of knowing who the real killer was got to her," clarified Kenshin.
"What?" asked Hiko out loud, getting the attention of the others.
"She kept repeating that she knew who the killer was before she blacked out, and she was most likely talking about that when she was awake just now," said Kenshin as he turned to look at his personal assistant and lawyer.
Hiko rubbed his chin as he thought about what he had just heard.
"What are you going to do about her?" asked Hiko suddenly, causing his student and nephew to face him with a bewildered look.
"What are you talking about old man?" asked Sano.
"For one, I'm not an old man, I'll still be living and breathing and kicking your butt at fighting by the time you retire. And second, I wanted to ask what my baka deshi was going to do about Kaoru in this state; she obviously can't take care of herself and she can't go to work," began Hiko but was interrupted by Kenshin.
"I'm not firing her if that's what you're asking," said Kenshin, his eyes narrowing into slits.
"Never said that you were going to; we'll need her expertise when she gets her memory back. Do you plan to take care of her is the real question here Kenshin. She's earned enough money to last the rest of her life if she never gets her memory back she can start over fresh without any trouble. So are you going to help her get back on her feet, or are you going to leave it to her grandfather? Which I do believe should be flying from Kyoto right about now," pointed out Hiko calmly; all eyes fell on him.
"You knew about her grandfather getting a phone call?" asked Sanosuke as he looked at the man perplexed at how the guy always seemed two steps ahead of him.
"I know? I paid for Okina's trip over here," said Hiko with a grin to his nephew who merely rolled his eyes.
"You, being nice?" asked Sano a bit taken aback.
"Kaoru has saved our company a few times, and I think that it's only best that I repay the debt. She saved you rooster head, from giving M.R.S. a bad name," said Hiko, smirking inwardly as he saw Sano's left eye twitch.
"And yourself," whispered Sano to himself.
"What did you say rooster head?" asked Hiko, knowing full well that Sano wouldn't dare answer that question truthfully.
"Nothing," said Sano as he threw up his hands in defense.
"I can take care of her and her grandfather," offered Misao from behind them all, a bit shy from talking head on with the originally creator of M.R.S..
"She's not use to you; I'll take care of her," stated Kenshin, his voice leaving no room whatsoever to argue.
"The media is going to have a field day," said Soujiro as he moved the blinds out of the way and looked out the hospital window and saw the cars upon cars of reporters trying to get into the building to see what's going on.
"I could care less about them, what matters is that Kaoru gets back her health," said Kenshin, being the stubborn person that he was, everyone there knew that he didn't care about what others thought about him; it was his life and he had enough money to cover up anything that he wanted.
"Then she'll stay at our estate then?" asked Hiko.
"No, I have another place in mind," said Kenshin as he gave his uncle a grin.
A tap on the door stopped the older man from questioning his nephew further, and made him move out of the way as the doctor and Megumi stepped in. The two bowing to the man out of respect as Dr. Katsu closed the door behind him.
"I didn't expect my patient to have so many guests," said Katsu as he faced them all with a smile before walking over to Kaoru's bed and taking a look at the clipboard at the front of her bed and looked at the contents and graphs.
"Will she be able to leave the hospital today?" asked Misao restlessly.
"Well there doesn't seem anything else that is wrong from her than her temporary memory loss, so she's free to go today. Though if anything else happens that concerns you or any unsuspected memory loss, then please bring her back here as quickly as you can," said Katsu as he smiled at the occupants of the room.
"Do you suggest that we do anything to help her in this condition?" asked Kenshin as he walked towards Kaoru's body, and then turned to face the doctor.
"You can help her get orientated back into her normal surroundings, and give her a boost in her memory by showing her familiar pictures of herself, familiar music, or objects. There is also the choice of just telling her about her past. I think that since her grandfather is coming, he should be able to help her in that category," said Katsu.
"I can get her some college pictures!" stated Misao; happy that she could do something to help her friend.
"Her mind is in a delicate stage right now, and I advice to you all not to rush into anything and be very patient with her. She can get permanent memory loss if anything else happens to her, like a hit on the head or anything in that sort. Just be careful what you say around her, because some things might trigger bad memories and cause to forget some things when her memory returns," warned Katsu seriously, and smiled when everyone in the room nodded.
"Well I'll leave you all alone to decide things," said Katsu as he moved to leave, but Hiko stopped him by grabbing his elbow.
"Put the medical bill under my name," whispered Hiko so that only the doctor could hear.
Nodding, the doctor quietly closed the door behind him.
"So how do we get out of here with all those reporters down there?" asked Soujiro as he returned from his position by the window.
"Kaoru isn't use to strangers, she freaked out when she saw me. I fear what she's going to do when she's before a crowd of strangers asking her questions," said Misao concerned.
Kenshin looked towards Sano who understood and flipped out his cell phone and quickly punched in a few numbers.
"We'll all go out through the front except Kenshin, Sano, and of course Kaoru. We can easily stall for enough time for them to get out to the back and leave the area," said Hiko as he realized what his nephew was thinking.
"Then let's get going," said Megumi as she led the way out once Sano gave the okay signal with his thumb and forefinger and turned off his cell.
"Make sure that wherever it is that you're going to take her, you take her now. Send me an email when you get there to tell me your location so I can send her grandfather there, if the public allows him to leave," said Hiko once the others left.
Kenshin only nodded and watched as his uncle left before turning towards the sleeping form before him.
"Wake up Kaoru," said Kenshin as he lightly touched her hand and moved it a bit to get her to wake up.
The girl only wrinkled her nose before opening up her tired eyes to meet happy amber ones, upon seeing who it was she smiled.
"We're leaving," said Kenshin as he helped her to sit up.
"Where?" asked the girl as she cocked her head at him.
"To my…. We're going home," said Kenshin as he helped her to her feet, careful to hold her tightly just in case her footing wasn't correct.
"You're going to need to change Missy," said Sano as he handed Kenshin her clothes.
"Do you think that you can change yourself?" asked Kenshin as he led her towards the bathroom.
When the girl nodded, he gave her the clothes and waited.
~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Well that's about it for now, the real action should be coming along in the next chapter and the next one will be loads better! If you guys liked this fic, then read Forbidden Memories, you guys should enjoy that one! ^_~ So expect an update when I remember to do it, and that will happen when my homework stops coming in so quickly! Though I'll try my best to update this at least once a month! Thank you all for reading!