Summary: After being involved in a car accident, Taro Misaki lost his memories. But in order to restore what is lost, what will you give up?
Ahaha… another one-shot. This was supposed to be a chaptered story, but I wanted to get your opinion on it before I write a full-fledge story. So… reviews are highly appreciated! Captain Tsubasa doesn’t belong to me, and part of the quotes here may come from Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. If you are pleased with the outcome of this story, then please go support Yoichi Takahashi and buy his manga, Captain Tsubasa,and the manga Kingdom Hearts, adapted by Shiro Amano. If you want, you are also welcome to buy their games. Thank you! (Uhh… did that sound like advertising?)
--
“What happened? What happened?! Is he going to be all right?!”
The sound of Oozora Tsubasa’s worried voice was all that he could hear.
“Don’t worry, sonny. He’s going to be fine, but there’s a chance that he might get amnesia.”
That must be the doctor’s voice.
“We’ll begin the procedure when my fellow doctor arrives.”
All that I could remember…
Was nothing.
Enigma
Akira Kobayashi
A boy laid on the hospital bed, unconscious, with different contraptions attached to his body. He was breathing, his heart rate was a bit low, but it was returning to normal state. Four people were in the room, all waiting in anxiety for the boy on the hospital bed to wake up.
The tension broke when the door opened, and the doctor entered the premises. The four of them stood up almost simultaneously, but only Oozora Tsubasa had the strength to ask.
“Doctor, is he going to be in a coma?”
All four of them had been up the whole night, waiting for a sign that the boy on the bed will wake up. Sadly, all their efforts were in vain.
“At this point, I’m not really sure. The procedure went on normally, but at cases like this, it is up to the patient if he’ll be able to regain consciousness. If he doesn’t show any sign that he’ll be waking up within eighteen hours, then he might not…”
The doctor could not find any more words to comfort their weary souls.
Genzo Wakabayashi slammed his fist into the wall. Luckily, the wall was made of cement, so their neighboring patient didn’t notice. “Darn! Why did this happen …?”
Genzo closed his eyes, as he remembered the call he received from a frantic Tsubasa about fifteen hours ago…
--
Genzo just got out if the bathroom when his cellphone rang. His hair was dripping wet, and he just finished practicing for the night. Weary, he picked up the phone and greeted the boy on the other line as cheerful as he could.
“Yeah? What now?!”
“Genzo-kun! It’s… It’s Taro-kun! H-he…”
Genzo’s eyes shot wide open. He never heard Tsubasa so frantic and worried like this.
“Why? What happened?!”
“H-he… got hit… b-by a car… w-we’re in the h-hospital…”
Genzo was shocked. He knew Taro Misaki enough, and he wouldn’t be that careless to let a car hit him. He thought he already heard some sobbing, maybe Tsubasa was crying…?
“Hang on! Is he going to be all right? What hospital is it?!”
“The doctor’s performing an operation right now… b-but they said h-he doesn’t look too g-good…”
There was a second of silence as both Genzo and Tsubasa tried to sink the information in. When Tsubasa noticed he wasn’t going to reply, he continued to talk.
“W-we’re in the Shizuoka Prefecture Hospital.”
“I’m coming!”
“H-hurry! T-Taro-kun… he needs us!”
Genzo ended the call before grabbing some clothes to wear. He was called down for dinner, but he said that he has something important to do; he won’t be having dinner there. He called for his chauffeur and told him that there was an emergency at the Shizuoka Prefecture Hospital.
When he was out of the door, he called Mamoru Izawa and told him what had befallen their friend. He jumped into the car, and when they passed Izawa’s house, Izawa was ready to go. He climbed in, and both were already speeding to the hospital.
After running towards the OR, they found Tsubasa with Nakazawa Sanae, both with a worried look on their faces. It turns out that Sanae was the one who was crying. They sat beside Tsubasa, and the four of them waited in silent prayer for their dear friend to come out of the OR.
“How long have they been in there?” Izawa asked with caution, knowing that something like this was a fragile matter that needs to be treated with caution.
“A-about three hours…” Tsubasa calmly replied.
“H-how bad is it?” Even Genzo was afraid of opening his mouth. But he needed to know.
“T-They told me he’s got a bad hit on the head that resulted to a fracture on the skull, and a few minor injuries. The devastating one was the hit on the head. He must’ve got it when his head landed on the road.” Tsubasa was scared; he said those words in croaked voice. He himself couldn’t believe what he just said.
Genzo muttered a curse under his breath as he intertwined his fingers together. He rested his chin on his hands as they waited for the patient to come out.
--
By the time the doctors finished the operation, it was already 1 in the morning. The four of them followed their dear friend who was being wheeled into one of the rooms by the east ward. The nurses didn’t allow them to enter the room until all of the systems were going.
They waited for another hour, and by the time they were allowed to enter Taro’s room, it was already 2. There were four available chairs, and each of them took one. Tsubasa was nearly in tears when he saw the state of poor Misaki.
He was lying there peacefully, already changed in hospital clothing, with a bandage wrapped around his forehead. His breath was heavy, and his heart rate was lower than normal. The doctor entered the room, and told them that the operation went well, but will need some time to recover. He also told them to watch if he moves, and if he does, inform him immediately.
The four managed to loosen up a bit, but were still tensed to see if their friend could make it out of this mess alive.
--
Sanae volunteered to go buy them something to eat. It was already 4 in the morning, and they were all hungry since none of them had dinner on the previous night. Tsubasa volunteered to go with her, and so Genzo and Izawa were left to watch over Taro.
Taro hadn’t moved one inch, but his breathing had eased and his heart rate was starting to return to normal. Izawa was nodding off for a few minutes until Sanae and Tsubasa returned, with a few prepackaged foods they bought from the nearby convenience store.
Genzo was still stubborn, complaining how flat and flavorless the food at the convenience store was. But he ate it nonetheless, offering that the next time they visit, he was going for a delivery.
Sanae and Tsubasa was a bit annoyed, but relieved to find that Genzo was only trying to lift the mood a little.
--
Genzo was groggy. He hadn’t slept a wink since he came to the hospital, but was thankful when his butler came to fetch him, saying that he needed a change of clothes and even breakfast.
Taro had been sleeping comfortably for eight hours since he came out of the OR, and the doctors said that they’d be looking after him while they all went to have breakfast and maybe even get some sleep.
Genzo offered to treat them all for breakfast, and they, after staying awake for the whole night, had gladly obliged.
That night, after having many visitors during the day, Taro woke up. He opened his eyes, and his friends were ecstatic to see their friend wake up. Even the doctors were relieved.
He stared up at the ceiling blankly, and then he looked at everyone in the room.
Almost the whole team was there, but there was one thing wrong at that joyous moment.
“Who… are… you?” Taro asked slowly, as he blinked his eyes in confusion.
Tensed silence filled the room, as all the joyous faces suddenly turned serious.
“Doctor… wha- what’s happening?” Teppei Kisugi asked, staring in shock at Taro, who was staring at each one of them blankly.
“I warned you beforehand… amnesia was expected. The hit he received partially damaged the frontal part of the cerebral cortex, where awareness and memory takes place.” The doctor said in a sad tone. He looked almost afraid of telling them the news.
“N-No way… he lost his memory?!” Ryo Ishizaki muttered, looking at their friend, who had given up trying to remember them and went to sleep again.
“But I thought those things only happened in movies…” Hajime Taki thought out loud.
“No, actually it’s quite common with every head injury we have. Almost all head injuries we deal with have an aftermath of amnesia, but most of them manage to regain their memories. As for Misaki Taro, the kind of amnesia he has is probably functional retrograde amnesia or dissociative fugue, forgetting past events and even the most recent ones. He even forgets his own identity. In cases like these, the patient usually regains memory in a few hours or week, but it’s not guaranteed. ” The doctor said.
“Most of them…?” Yuzo Morisaki asked.
“Some of them… never regained their memories. They even have difficulty making new ones.” The doctor replied.
“How long does it take to regain them?” Tsubasa asked as he sat on a chair beside the bed.
“The range is from several hours… to his whole life.” The doctor said, and silence once again enveloped the room.
“The best thing you can probably do is to leave him alone for a few days. If you try to force him to remember, or even make new memories again, chances are he’ll never be able to regain them back.” The doctor said.
“How long?” Genzo asked, looking the doctor straight in the eye.
“A week, tops. If there’ll be any improvements, I’ll inform you.” The doctor said in a serious tone.
One by one, they began filing out of the room. Soon, the room was empty, leaving only Taro and his life support system making noises amidst the quiet room.
--
Three days after he was diagnosed to have amnesia, Taro had regained enough energy to stand up on his own two feet without collapsing back on the bed. The day was bright and beautiful, and yet he had no idea what time it was. And why he was there.
“Good morning, Misaki-san. How are you?” The doctor said as he entered the room.
“uhh... good morning. Who are you?” Taro asked as courteously as he could.
“I’m your doctor, Kamishino. You don’t really recall who you are or what happened to you?” Dr. Kamishino asked as he examined the readings on Taro’s condition.
“Sorry, Kamishino-sensei. Nothing.” Taro shook his head in disappointment.
“That’s okay. I’ll tell you what you need to know for now.” Dr. Kamishino said as he took a quick look on his clipboard.
“You’re Taro Misaki. You got hit by car and hit your head pretty bad, so that caused you to get amnesia.” The doctor said flat and straight.
Taro looked at him with curious eyes. “Taro… Misaki?”
The doctor nodded. Taro looked up at Dr. Kamishino before asking him if he could go outside. The doctor nods yet again, but he isn’t allowed to go outside hospital grounds.
“Can I have a change of clothes?” Taro asked, and the doctor pointed to a paper bag in the corner of the room.
“Those were your clothes brought in by your friends. I told them to bring you some.” The doctor smiled.
“Who are my friends?” Taro asked.
“You’ll see soon enough. Be sure you’ll be back before lunch.” The doctor said before leaving the room.
--
Taro got changed quickly, and he looked at his room number before he set off wandering into hospital grounds.
What greeted him at the back part of the hospital was a simple yet beautiful garden. There was a pond in one corner, and a bunch of benches and some stones that serve as a path scattered on the green plains. There were even some rosebushes and other flowers here and there.
He followed the stone path that led to an isolated part of the garden. He heard a soft voice singing from within and followed it.
He saw a girl about his age with brown hair and green eyes singing on one of the benches. Without meaning to, he stepped on a fallen branch that caused a snapping sound.
The girl stopped and looked at Taro. They both stared at each other in silence.
“I- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.” Taro apologized courteously before running away.
“It’s okay. If you want, you can sit over here.” The girl said, just loud enough for Taro to hear.
He slowly walked back and sat beside the girl. They stayed there in silence for a while, before Taro asked a question.
“Who are you?”
The girl looked at him, confused, but answered the question nonetheless.
“They told me I was Masami. Motoharu Masami.” The girl said.
“Are you…?” Taro’s question got cut off when a soft breeze blew by.
“Yes. Amnesia. They told me I was in a coma for 5 years, which was what caused my amnesia.” Masami said, looking down on her fingers.
“They also told me I have amnesia. I was involved in a car accident. That’s what they said.” Taro replied, looking down on his feet.
“What do they call you?” Masami asked, gazing slightly at Taro.
“Taro. Taro Misaki.” Taro replied, meeting up with Masami’s quick gaze.
“I see. Then we’re on the same boat.” Masami said with a smile. “I hardly find people with the same problem as me.”
Once again, they were enveloped in silence. The wind got a bit stronger, blowing some loose leaves away. Taro broke the silence.
“Is it… really okay if we never regain our memories back?” He didn’t look up when he asked that question.
Masami was quiet for a while, but managed to reply.
“I think it’s okay. That way, we can have more space for new ones.” She looked up at the bright blue sky.
“But what if we… forgot some important memories? Ones that we should never forget?” Taro asked with a worried face.
Masami looked at him from the corner of her eye. This guy trusts others really quick. We’ve just met each other for a grand total of 5 minutes and he acts as if I’m his best friend. What a good guy.
Just when Taro didn’t expect her to reply, she opened her mouth.
“Well, if those memories are really important, then you shouldn’t have forgotten them even if we have amnesia.” Masami said, looking him directly in the eye.
“H-how…?” Taro asked.
“Because the mind is not the only organ that remembers.” Masami said and put her hands on top of her chest.
“If those memories were really important, then they will be remembered by the heart as well.” Masami said, closing her eyes.
They remained there in silence, Taro with wide eyes upon realizing something so common, and Masami closing her eyes, as if reminiscing.
“The heart eh…?” Taro said as he looked up at the sky, with a contented smiled. He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to search his heart.
He remembered… some common things. But why can’t he remember his friends?
His friends were important, but why can’t he remember them?
“If you can’t find them in your heart…” Masami started, opening her eyes. Taro opened his as well, and looked at her.
“… maybe that’s because they’re hidden deep within your heart. That way, no one… can hurt them or touch them.” Masami finished and smiled at Taro.
“Hidden… memories?” Taro whispered.
“Yes.” Masami replied softly.
Once more, silence returned. All they could hear was the sound of rustling leaves, of swaying trees, and of beating hearts.
“Hey! I have an idea.” Masami suddenly said.
“Why don’t we find them?” Masami asked, looking at Taro’s eyes.
Taro sat there in silence, looking at her with confused eyes.
“Why don’t we go search… for our memories?” Masami said, looking up at the blue sky. The sun was high up, but the shade of the trees made it bearable.
Taro looked at her with a slightly surprised face, then, with a contented smile on his face, replied, “Let’s go.”
To be continued?
Uh… was that short? Ehehe… Finished in three hours. Long…. Sigh… anyway, hoping for your reviews! That way, I’ll know if I should continue with that full-fledged story. It’s actually their adventure on how they find their memories in blahblahblah…
The rest would be spoilers if I told you. Hehe. Review? Please? ,
