AN: So, during the last chapter I had some complaints about Kyo's eye color. To be honest, I was afraid to do much with character descriptions because the readers know these characters inside out and backwards and if I get something wrong BOOM! - Death by angry fan reviews… But seriously, I've watched the anime and read the entire series. I always pictured Kyo's eyes being like a burnt amber or gold color, and because the meaning of fanfic is that it's the authors interpretation, that's the color they stay in this story. I apologize to any diehard Kyo-lovers in advance. So please, don't hurt me or send me angry e-mails!!!
On a less timid note, thank you again for all the reviews, I appreciate the criticism and the ideas and the demand for updates because they make me feel important!
GONE…?
Chapter 5- The Hidden Truths
They arrived in the town later that morning. It wasn't very large, but the whole area seemed to be a farming community, so it wasn't that surprising. Kameko, who was the first one out of the car, seemed very eager to get where they were going, and the younger girl that followed after her could not make sense of it. Koga on the other hand walked behind the others. He seemed to be a very quiet and conserved person, which was a strange thought considering his physique. Definitely the strong silent type. The girl tried to get him to tell her about the town, but half of what he said went in one ear and out the other. He tried explaining about the tractor parts store that he worked in during his off months, but since she had never lived on a farm or tried to do anything involving mechanics, it didn't make sense. "What about school, do you remember your school?" he asked.
"Umm, nope," she replied.
"Nothing?"
"No, I'm drawing a blank. Oh, I wish I could remember! This isn't right, there has to be something in my mind! A person can't just not know anything!" she cried, tugging at her hair as though it might help trigger a memory.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy, Ame! That's not gonna help. I'm sorry I asked. I won't do that anymore. Just calm down," Koga insisted.
She sighed deeply. How long did they expect a person to live like this?
"Hey, head's up!" cried a little boy. The girl turned to see a soccer ball hurtling right at her face. "Oh!" She didn't have any time to react. After a second she opened her eyes again, wondering why the ball hadn't hit her, and there was Koga, holding the soccer ball. "Hey Hiroshi, watch where you're aiming!" he called to the boy.
"Sorry Koga!" the boy called back. "Who's that? Your girlfriend?"
"What?!?" Koga said, his face turning red. "No, of course not! Just go play somewhere else guys! You all right?" he asked, turning to the girl.
"Yeah. Nice catch," she said before adding a little dramatically, "you're my hero!"
"Uh, yeah… Any time…" He didn't say much else after that.
They stopped at a building that was nothing more than an old fashioned Edo style house with a sign in front. The office was small and didn't even have a secretary or anything. The doctor was sitting behind a desk that was shoved into a corner. "Ah, Hiranaka. How are you?"
"Not bad Utami, and you?"
"Very well, thank you," he answered. "Koga and Kameko too, hmm? Haven't seen you two since Koga broke his arm two years ago. But Ryou talks of you from time to time. If you'd like, you can go visit with him while you are here. He's in the kitchen."
Kameko left immediately through the door on the left wall. Koga hesitated, but decided it seemed better to join his sister than to stay. "So this is Ame-san, is it?" the doctor asked, looking at her over his glasses. He seemed nice enough, very fatherly with a good sense of humor. "Yes sir," she said just above a whisper.
"Well don't be shy Ame, come have a seat." She sat in the chair on the other side of his desk. "Now, you say you fell into the river?"
"I don't know. But when I woke up, I was on the river bank."
"No idea how you got there?"
"No."
"Think back for a minute and tell me, what is the earliest memory that you have?"
She leaned back and closed her eyes, thinking back. She saw herself leaning against the gate. No, earlier… She saw the spider in the morning. No, earlier… She was running, she couldn't see, and then she fell… She gasped and opened her eyes. "There was someone chasing me… It was dark and I couldn't see. Then I fell, probably into the river."
"Someone chasing you?"
"Yes, I think so."
"All right, we'll leave that subject for a moment. What is your full name?"
"I don't know. I tried to remember last night and this morning too."
"Do you know how old you are?"
"No."
"Did you go to school?"
"I think so… I don't remember."
"Do you know who you lived with?"
Once again her eyes closed, she was mentally probing for something to remember, something to grasp that wouldn't slip away. You can never reveal this secret… otherwise your memories will have to be erased…
"No, nothing," she said despairingly.
"All right. I'm certain that your memories will come back in due time. Now let me see how bad the damage is." He carefully looked her over. Other than the bump on her head, she had most likely twisted her wrist, or so Dr. Utami said, so he told her to keep it wrapped for a few days. She also had some cuts that he fixed up for her. "You were very lucky," he told his patient. "Now my only suggestion for amnesia has always been to go to places that seem familiar to you. I don't know if that helps you a whit, but if not, then just give yourself time. Don't push yourself. Do things that you like to do. If you like playing sports go out and play a game, if you like cooking go make dinner. Doing hobbies that are familiar to you should bring about some sort of memory about yourself. If you have anything you want to talk about, give me a call. Hiranaka-san has my number, right?"
"Of course," the man said with a grin. He had been sitting quietly on the other side of the room during this procedure.
"Well then, I better go collect the other two," the doctor said before disappearing through the doorway. Moments later he reappeared with three teens at his side. Kameko, who was all smiles, Koga, who looked concerned, and a dark haired youth that the girl assumed must by Ryou. He looked very much like Utami and she guessed that he was most likely his son or a close relation.
"Thank you very much, Utami-sensei," she said as they walked out of the office.
"Yes, just add it to my tab!" Hiranaka-san added.
"See you later, Kameko," Ryou called.
She blushed and waved goodbye to him.
(Scene change!)
Yuki returned to the house later that day to find that Mii had left their doorstep so he took that as a good omen that Shigure had (finally) finished his manuscript. It was about time too. What he opened the door to was another thing entirely. A black dog came bounding out of the den where Shigure normally worked, and there was a loud shriek. The dog hid behind Yuki, whimpering all the way, his tail between his legs. "Akito is going to kill me," the dog said.
"Oh no, don't tell me…"
"He's a dog!!! All this time he's been writing for us and he's a dog! A lousy, no-good, forgetful dog!!!" Yuki ran into the room and found Mii holding a manuscript in one hand and Shigure's kimono in the other.
"Uh, Shigure, what do I do?" Yuki asked over Mii's hysterical ranting.
"Wait until…" Poof! "…I change back. Um, can I have my clothes please?"
Mii was thoroughly distressed by what she'd seen, and so they figured that she wouldn't go very far. Shigure dialed the main house and thankfully Hatori picked up the phone instead of Akito. "Hiya, Hatori! Hey I've got a favor to ask if you're not too busy… What? Oh no, actually, it's rather urgent, um… Mii found out… Well what do you think I mean by found out?!? My goodness Ha'ri and I thought Aaya was bad… Try instant memory modifying… That would be great. Thank you!" He hung up and looked to Yuki with a smile on his face. "Ha'ri is going to be here in a few minutes, we just have to make sure that Mii doesn't escape until then." So they went to stand guard over the den until Hatori arrived. Shigure continued to smile as though there was absolutely nothing wrong.
"Hey, Shigure, aren't you worried that Akito might find out?" Yuki asked his cousin.
Shigure merely continued to smile and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a piece of paper in the shape of a sweat drop and placed it on his forehead. "Now I am!" he said cheerfully.
(Scene Change!)
Hatori dropped the phone back onto the cradle and sighed. Shigure's idiocy was going to kill him one day, he was sure of it. Now the question was whether or not to alert the head of the family of the situation. "It's not like Akito won't find out sooner or later," Hatori mused. He pulled open his door and stepped lightly down the hallway of the Sohma House. When he approached the door of the head of the family he heard a conversation taking place between Akito and what sounded like Kureno. "No one else is to know about this. She's best left forgotten. It's a shame the fall didn't kill the poor girl, but Rokanawa Village is a good place for her. Tohru Honda will not be a nuisance to us anymore."
Tohru was alive, she was safe! That was wonderful news, but Akito wasn't going to tell anyone? That was alarming. Realizing that he was just standing outside the door, he thought it might be a good idea to knock.
"Who is it?" Akito snapped as Hatori pulled back the door. "Oh, Hatori. What do you want?"
I want to know what you've done to Tohru, he thought bitterly as he stared blandly at Akito and Kureno, but he knew deep down that he could never work up the courage to say that, not to Akito. "Shigure just called. Seems he made a screw up and his editor found out his secret. I came to ask for permission to erase her memory."
"Ugh. That knucklehead. Yes, go ahead and go. The sooner you get it cleared up the better."
He bowed and left, making sure that the door clicked into place behind him. I must tell Shigure, he thought. The guy may be an idiot, but maybe we can find Tohru. Rokanawa Village, I think that's what he said.
When Hatori came into the yard, he saw Kyo walking through the front door. The sun was beginning to set, its bright orange rays momentarily blinding him. He nearly tripped in his haste to get into the house. Yuki opened the door for him. "Where's Shigure?" he demanded.
"He's in the den with Mii. Is something wrong, Hatori?" but the doctor had already passed him and was on his way down the hall. He found his cousin sitting on a cushion, sipping a cup of tea. Mii was out cold on the floor.
"Poor girl couldn't handle the shock," Shigure said as if people turning into dogs were an every day occurrence.
"Well all the better for us," Hatori said. "When she wakes up she'll think it was all a bad dream and I won't have to waste my time and energy trying to make her forget."
As if on cue, Mii sat up and looked at Shigure. "He's a dog!" she yelped as she stared at him.
"What are you talking about?" Hatori asked in a forbidding but mildly curious voice.
"Here you go, Mii," Shigure said, handing her the finished manuscript from the desk. "You fell asleep while I was finishing it, and I just couldn't bear to wake you up."
"It was… a dream?" she asked mistily.
"What?"
"You aren't a dog?"
"Well, I don't think so… Why, did you buy me a leash so that you could keep track of me?" he said with a laugh.
"No, but that's a good idea. I'll remember to bring one next time."
"You people are much too serious," Shigure muttered as she walked out of the door triumphantly holding the manuscript.
Once Hatori was sure that Mii was gone, he yelled at the top of his voice, which he rarely ever did, for Yuki and Kyo. They both scrambled into the room fearful that something else had happened. "I'm only going to say this once so listen up. I know where Tohru-kun is."
"What?"
"Where?"
"Is she okay?"
"Just quiet for a minute. When I told Akito I was coming here I overheard our mighty head of the family telling Kureno about her. What was it Akito said? 'It's a shame the fall didn't kill the girl, but Rokanawa Village is a good place for her. Tohru Honda won't be a nuisance to us anymore.' No one else is to know."
"What did Akito mean by 'the fall'?" Yuki asked. "Did something happen to her?"
"Rokanawa Village. That's about a half-hour away from here right? So let's go!" Kyo said, jumping to his feet.
"Not yet. It's dark now. If we go sneaking around that place at night trying to find her, we may get into trouble. Plus I said I was only coming to take care of Shigure's idiocy. I don't want Akito to get suspicious. So I will return to the Sohma House tonight. Tomorrow first thing in the morning, we all go down to Rokanawa Village and find Tohru-kun. Kyo, don't you dare think of leaving this house tonight otherwise when tomorrow comes, you'll find yourself right back in that cell where Akito wanted you in the first place. I don't suggest calling anyone until we know she's safe and sound back here, got it?"
They all nodded, but none of them seemed ready to wait longer. Hatori wasn't too thrilled with the idea either, but he knew this was for their own good, as well as Tohru's. Soon after, Hatori left to return to Sohma House. "Well, at least we know that she's alive. That's good, I was really worried for awhile there. We'll see her first thing tomorrow."
"What worries me the most is… well, if she's all right, why hasn't she called or come back?" Yuki asked quietly.
"Shut up, you damn rat! She's fine. You heard Hatori. She's just fine and don't you dare say otherwise!" Kyo stood up and stormed out of the room. When he reached his room, he took out his homework, glanced at it, and then sighed. "You better be all right Tohru." After a few minutes of pacing, he picked up his CD player and headphones. With these in hand, he slipped out the door, undetected by the others. Once he was clear of that house, he put the headphones over his ears and turned up the volume as high as it would go. He started jogging down the road a ways, trying to keep his head on straight as some random Metallica blared in his ears. The few people that passed him wondered if he was half-deaf, or if he would be once he took the headphones off.
How did it happen, he wondered. How did she end up in Rokanawa Village? Akito had said something about a fall… What fall and where for that matter? Did Akito push her off a cliff or down a flight of stairs? He shuddered at the thought. Endless possibilities and thoughts rushed through his head as he ran, but no matter how fast he was, he couldn't get away from them. No matter how many steps he took, he knew that she was too far ahead of him. Besides, said the nasty little voice in the back of his head, the minute she gets home, she'll go running right back to Yuki, just like she always does. I'm nothing to her, nothing but a temperamental cat. How am I supposed to beat Yuki? That damn rat wins everything. He beats me in grades, not that I care about that, and fighting, and he's popular, respected… he's everything I've ever wanted to be and more. Maybe Tohru needs a guy like him… I guess an unpredictable outcast isn't the best choice for her. Or me…
Dun dun dun!!! Okay guys, there you go. I posted this one now because I'm graduating tomorrow and its gonna be party central here for the next week, so if you don't hear much for a bit, that's why. But don't worry, I'll be back. The story's not over yet!