"Think he's involved?" Tony said.
"He's just a child!" Ziva exclaimed.
"He's in pain and half dead, he's got to have some part in it." McGee pointed out.
"Think he did it?"
"No!" Ziva and McGee said simultaneously.
A nurse in pink scrubs put her finger to her lips in a silencing motion while other nurses looked in. The pink scrubbed nurse entered the hospital room and checked the IV connected to a white haired boy.
"How soon will he wake?" Said the female NCIS agent.
"He sustained a major head wound and most likely will not wake up for a couple days."
"What happened to him?"
"It looks like the kid was cut with a sword."
"What about the head?" Said the blue eyed team leader, Gibbs, with coffee in hand.
"Actually you might want to talk with a doctor. We aren't sure about the wound."
"What do you mean?"
Before DiNozzo could get an answer the white haired patient had awoke. As he tried to sit up the nurse gently pushed him down and checked his IV again.
"Please, you need to rest. Watch him," she said to the team, "I need to get his doctor." The nurse in pink scrubs scurried away.
"Nani?" He said in Japanese, confused.
Gibbs approached the boy cautiously, "Konnichiwa, eigo wo hanase masu ka?" (Hello, do you speak English?)
The Japanese, with an apparent English accent, registered inside the young boys head slowly. "C-correct."
"Who are you?" Tony said from behind Gibbs, his curiosity getting the better of him. Gibbs turned and glared at the senior NCIS agent.
"Can you tell me your name?" Gibbs said slowly.
"Watashi…Watashi wa…" He muttered, "I, I, don't know."
"It's like Total Recall, except weird kid version." Tony mused. Ziva shot him a This is not the time, look.
The nurse walked in with a doctor following close behind. "How long has he been up?"
"Just a few minutes," said the nurse.
The doctor motioned for the boy to sit up, in which he did but with great pain. The doctor took his small light and shined it in the boy's eyes, he got a proper response. The doctor checked his IV then took the middle school boys pulse.
"He's normal." He said in awe.
"I don't know who I am and you think that's normal?!" The boy said suddenly.
"Hey, the Doc didn't know."
The doctor turned to Tony, "He doesn't remember anything?"
Tony nodded. The doctor looked at the boy with sympathy mixed with pity.
"I'm going to ask you a series of questions, do your best to answer them," He said to the amnesiac boy.
"Hai," He replied.
"What is your name?"
"Don't know, might have started with a T."
"How old are you?"
"Older than you," the response was automatic like it was frequent.
"I highly doubt that," chuckled the doctor.
"Sure he doesn't have brain damage?" Laughed DiNozzo.
"Not funny, Tony." McGee said rolling his eyes.
The doctor cleared his throat and continued the questioning, "Are you Japanese?"
"Yes."
"Do you live in America, or are you visiting?"
"I…Don't know…"
The doctor looked at the kid and asked one more time, "Do you know your name?"
Toshiro Hitsugaya, the captain of the 10th division, a soul reaper, looked at his doctor "I don't know."
…
"There's nothing wrong with his skull or brain. It looks like some sort of trauma caused the amnesia."
"What about the wound to his head?" asked the Israeli agent.
"It looks like just a flesh wound, I tiny scratch compared to his other wounds. It would not have caused amnesia, or any serious damage in that matter."
…
The nurse in pink scrubs held two rolls of bandages, one in each hand. She was trying to change the damn kid's bandages but no, he had to be resistant.
"Nani wo shiteru no! Yamete!" (Don't touch me! Stop!)
She injected the stubborn kid with a sedative and waited. Waited. And waited. It had no effect on him. What the in the hell? The nurse thought.
"Kid, hey! I'm trying to help. Hold still!"
The amnesia ridden Toshiro stopped resisting. She seemed to have good intentions but something inside him, call it instinct, told him to trust no one.
The nurse removed all his bandages and with seeing the wounds gasped. The bandage rolls fell from her hands to the floor and started unraveling.
"W-what is this?!"
…
His doctor stood over him closely examining the wounds. Confused he declared, "The wounds are healing, rapidly. Probably a month's worth of healing in the couple of days he's been here."
Doctors from all over the hospital to take a look at the rapid healing boy and that boy didn't like it. Something was wrong. No one was supposed to know. He knew this would happen…did he? No, it was only a feeling. Trust no one.
…
"Ready?" Said McGee.
"Sure," the kid replied. He felt the need to protect something, a secret? Yes. A secret. There was something that these people shouldn't know. But was it?
McGee has given the boy normal clothes, instead of the clothes he was wearing. Anyway why would you want to wear blood stained clothes? He had given the boy a plain grey t-shirt and blue jeans. He looked like a normal middle school student. The boy still wore a bandage around his temple where the wound was. That was the only wound that was not healing, or at least not at the unusual rapid pace. When you looked at the wound in almost looked like a pentagram, but when McGee had brought it up Tony had shot the idea down, You play too many video games! he had said.
There was an awkward silence in the car.
"So you're Japanese?"
"I guess. I understand it better than English."
"Are you Japanese American? Or just visiting?" McGee invested further.
"What are you doing? Interrogating me?"
"No, no. Just trying to, uh, make conversation."
"Well how would I even l know? I don't even know my own friggin' name!"
After that silence filled the car for the rest of the ride.
…
Ichigo Kurosaki's House
Rukia Kuchiki stood with Renji Abarai and Ichigo Kurosaki.
"We found Rangiku Matsumoto in Kyoto. She was injured pretty badly…" Rukia said.
"What happened?! Where's Toshiro? Is he with her?!" Ichigo pressed.
"We can't find him." Renji answered.
"Are we going to look at least? Matsumoto would want that, right?"
"Yes…"
"Will she look? Can she give information on what happened at least?"
Rukia hesitated before her expression hardened, "Ichigo, she has no memory."
"Amnesia? Her injuries were that bad?"
"Ichigo, the thing is, the thing is she healed quickly."
"So then what's the problem?" He asked exasperated.
Rukia and Renji exchanged glances before Renji replied, "The only wound left is a small bruise to the temple, no brain damaging injuries."
…
Karin Kurosaki, the younger sister of Ichigo, stood hunched by the door to Ichigo's bedroom. Her ear was pressed to the door listening closely.
Toshiro and she had played soccer just last week. What happened between then and now? Karin only hoped that Toshiro Hitsugaya was alive and would come back. Then she remembered.
The sun was setting, casting its golden glow over the town.
"That was fun, Toshiro! What would we do without you?" Karin joking hit his arm, a smile crossed her face.
"What would you?" His tone was serious as he turned to Karin.
Startled she replied, "W-what do you mean?"
"Never mind."
"No," she insisted, "Tell me."
"It's nothing," and with that Toshiro walked forward into the setting sun. His figure slowly disappeared and a cold wind brushed Karin's face. What did he mean?
The door to Ichigo's room swung open, causing the nosy sister to fall to the ground.
"Ehhmmn…"