Chapter 5
"My name is Hikari."
Kurama awoke several days later in a bed that was not his, and a home that was not his own. Most of his wounds had just stopped bleeding.
"So you're finally awake," said a young lady's voice. Kurama looked over to see a young woman of about 16 years old with long brown hair smiling at him. Then he noticed the school uniform that was identical to the ones that all the girls wore at his school.
"I'm sorry, but I seem to have missed your name last time…"
"Hikari Shindo." She interrupted. "My name is Hikari."
"Why did you save me? You know you could have been killed." Kurama said with a confused look.
"Actually, I happened to be walking toward the stream, Shuichi, when I saw you fighting with that guy with the long black hair, black lace-up vest, and scythe. I was going to practice my archery, but decided that it would be a bad idea to let my presence be known, so I hid in the bushes, then when that girl, Valentine, I think was her name, tried to finish you off I decided to take the shot.
"Do I know you form somewhere, by any chance?" Kurama asked curious why some stranger would do something like that.
"I'm actually in every single one of your classes, Shuichi." Hikari said realizing that, just like everyone else, he had never noticed her.
Then Kurama remembered. He had seen her. She was the girl who always sat silently at the back of the class. She never said a word to anyone save, the teacher, and to him the only thing she said was good morning or afternoon. She didn't appear to be very confident at school, for she always wore her hair down in her face and avoided eye contact with everyone. But now, as she looked at him wondering what he was thinking he could see that she had beautiful, gun-metal gray eyes.
"You know you really shouldn't stare at the floor all the time. You have the prettiest eyes." Hikari blushed and turned away. "So how long have I been out?" Kurama asked.
"Umm… let's see, about nine days I think." Hikari said, looking at the calendar on her wall.
"Wow! That long!" Kurama said quickly sitting up. "Ugh." He groaned putting a hand over his stomach. Fresh blood seeped through Kurama's shirt. Hikari walked down the hallway to the bathroom where they kept all the medical supplies and returned with gauze and alcohol.
"Shuichi, if you'd remove your shirt, I'll bandage those wounds for you." Kurama reluctantly undid his shirt and handed it to Hikari. She set it on the chair she had been sitting on, making a mental note to either wash it or get a new shirt later. "This might sting a little." She said touching the alcohol soaked gauze to the dagger's exit wound on Kurama's back. He shivered but simply said that it was the cold liquid on his skin. Hikari put some bandages on the wound.
"Shuichi lay down so I can work on your other injuries." She put her arm around his shoulders and eased him back o the bed. He winced slightly as some of the wounds pulled open again. "I'm sorry." Hikari said as she began cleaning his chest wounds.
'She hasn't called me Kurama at all. I guess it's true that she only knows me form school.' He thought.
"That girl, Valentine, she called you 'Kurama'. Why?" Hikari inquired, pausing a moment to gauge his reaction.
Kurama had been waiting to see if she'd ask that question. He sighed, "Kurama is my true name." When he saw the confused look on Hikari's face, he proceeded to tell her the same story he had told Valentine.