Yamaken and Yukine were hurrying to the headmaster's office when Yukine stopped Yamaken by calling out to him.
The latter turned to look at him, "What is it?"
"I lied," Yukine confessed, making Yamaken stare at him blankly without any clue to what he was saying.
"I lied to you about Kazuma-sensei calling you. Actually, the doctor who was in charge of Kaori was looking for you," Yukine said quietly. He sounded grave and serious all of a sudden.
"Why would he look for me?" Yamaken asked, still clueless of what was happening.
Yukine sighed as he looked into Yamaken's eyes, "He has a news that he wishes to tell us himself. So he asked for everyone who was close to Kaori to meet him in his office."
Yamaken's face turned pale, "Yukine, don't tell me-"
"I don't know anything, Yamaken," Yukine cut in, "But he said it was serious and it's about Kaori."
*************************************
"It looks like I have a lot to tell you, headmaster," Haruhi said, smiling at Kaori's dazed face.
Kaori shook her head side to side, "No, not that. I mean, who is Haru?"
"Eh?" It was Haruhi's turn to be dumbfounded. "So you really lost your memories.." She mumbled.
"You say it like you have heard something regarding that topic," Kaori said sharply. She was feeling frustrated to have forgotten about another person of her life but she hid it well.
Haruhi smiled in return, "Of course I know. I've been living around this area lately. It's normal for me to keep myself updated about what is going on around."
Kaori became alert, "You've been living around this place? Even though you are an outsider? " She scoffed, "What have the boarder guards been doing?"
"I apologize for my misbehaviour, headmast-" Haruhu immediately fell on her knees again in apologize.
"Don't call me that," Kaori cut her off sternly, "Stop calling me that and stand up."
"Is it because," Haruhi spoke carefully as she stood up, "You think you don't deserve being the heasmaster?"
Kaori looked up at Haruhi. Her eyes were wide in surprise, "𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸?"
"Actually," Haruhi continued without waiting for any reply, "When you touched my soul form the other day at the maze.. We exchanged our memories."
Kaori's jaw fell open in shock.
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥? 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵... 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺?!
"You must've seen something, haven't you?" Haruhi asked of Kaori.
At the question, Kaori remembered what she had seen that day which had left her wordless at that time.
[Flashback]
As soon as Kaori touched the spirit, she felt her whole world turn different in an instant before her eyes.
A sound of explosion and people screaming for help followed the huge fire she could see which was burning the huge building down into ashes.
"Kaori!"
As she heard the yell, she felt tears streaming down her cheeks. She tried to move towards the voice she had heard but she couldn't move.
That was when she snatched her hand away from the spirit and the vision had dissolved.
[End of flashback]
Kaori gulped, asking dryly, "That was your memory?"
"Yes," Haruhi answered, "It was an installed memory in me. When you saw my memories I saw yours, too. Seeing those broke my heart and I can't make myself believe that it is you who is standing before me today."
Kaori stayed silent.
𝘚𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸..
"I promise that I won't tell anyone anything," Haruhi smiled at the worried looking girl before her, "Besides, I am your loyal server."
"What do you mean by that?" Kaori asked blankly. "You said that before, too," she added.
"Don't you know that every headmaster has treasure guide of their own?"
"What is that?" Kaori asked again, curiosity taking the best of her this time.
"Treasure guides are kind of like the shinki(s) who dedicates their life in order to protect their headmaster and their position on behalf of them without holding anything back. They have to be truly loyal. They are known to have been the true friends of all headmasters for all the years until now," Haruhi explained in details.
Kaori shrugged, "They're no different than normal shinki then."
"Shinki can be used as weapons by any kinds of ability users. But treasure guides are the protector of their headmasters," Haruhi replied as she shook her head slightly. "Every headmasters have a treasure guide. The treasure guides choose whom they wish to serve. I, headmaster, am also a treasure guide. But I've been living as a free spirit until lately," Haruhi gave a small smile.
"You are a treasure guide? Of whom?" Kaori asked in surprise.
"Yes. After I learned that the headmaster have been changed to you so I came to serve you. After all, I've been assigned to serve you."
"Don't treasure guides choose their own headmasters? Does that mean.."
Haruhi said happily, "Yes, I chose to serve you, headmaster. That is why I've been following you lately. I have to protect you but honestly, I have seen that there isn't any crucial need for me. You have enough protectors by your side," Haruhi laughed lightly.
But Kaori didn't pay attention to any of those words. She was drowned in her own thoughts and then she asked a question lowly, "Why did you choose me?"
Haruhi let out a sigh and sat down on the earth under a tree, "Well, that's a long story."
"I have free time," Kaori also sat down in front of her.
Haruhi began, "Okay then, listen. So it all started with Haru.."
*************************************
Yamaken and Yukine entered the doctor's office room to see Kazuma-sensei, Maki, William, Gin, Aoi, Saki, Touma, Koutarou and Hayami already present. These guys were the closest to Kaori, so it was no wonder that the doctor asked for them.
"Sorry we're late," Yamaken stood beside William, Yukine standing beside him right after.
Kazuma asked the doctor first, "What is this about, Watari?"
The doctor named Watari, quietly pushed a file over his desk to Kazuma, "I have news on Kaori. It's about her illness to be precise. I had researched more about it since something had caught my eyes and it seems like I was right."
"What is it?" Kazuma took the file and started to flip the pages over. The other boys and girls peeped over his shoulders to see the contents of the file.
"Kaori's health is in danger. The stress and exhaustion that I had mentioned before, it was living inside her for too long. It pressured her brain and is now effecting her memories. Not just this, she had undergone too many heavy injuries, her bones and muscles are effected, too."
"Where is this going?" Maki asked with a frown.
"Kaori's conditions will worsen day by day if we don't do anything for her immediately. She might still remember everyone and everything correctly now but as days will pass by, she'll forget the little things to the bigger details. She'll loose everything."
Upon hearing this, Yamaken punched the wall harshly, "Damn it!"
"What do we do now?" Yukine asked tearfully.
"Maybe we can take her away from all these stress. If she can properly rest without any kinds of tension, maybe her mind will ease and she can go back again. But this is all my suggestion," Watari said uncertainly. "It has been a while since she last faced this kind of situation... I can't stop being worried for her after I saw the reports," he muttered.
"She'll be fine, right?" Kazuma asked desperately, "She'll be fine like she has always been, right?"
Watari stared at Kazuma briefly. Then he replied, "Kazuma.. Did you ever ask if she was fine? Ever since you took her in and raised her up, after she went through so many hardships, did you ever ask if she was really fine?"
Kazuma froze at the question. All the eyes in the room waited for Kazuma's reply, which never came.
Watari sighed, "She was never fine, Kazuma. She just pretended to be. You shouldn't always believe what you see. You were lied to, but you never realized. You believed her lies and that's why she never opened up to tell you the actual truth. That's why she kept on lying to you. Truthfully, Kaori's mental state was always in bad condition. But let's forget that now. We have to face the present condition."
He continued, "In my opinion, there are no other cures for the ailment of the current Kaori. We have to do what we can before it's too late."
*************************************
"Haru-" Haruhi stopped as soon as she started, "Oh right, you don't know who Haru is."
Kaori gave a small nod to the statement.
"Haru was a boy who was your first shinki," Haruhi said, "He was a normal student before he decided to serve you. And he used to respect you a lot even if you guys were really close friends."
Kaori was nodding again at her explanation when a voice sounded in her head.
"𝘒𝘢𝘰𝘳𝘪!" A smiling face appeared in Kaori's eyes as she heard the distinct voice that called her name.
"Haru.." Kaori muttered unconsciously.
Haruhi noticed this, "Oh, did you remember already?"
"No," Kaori shook her head in denial, "But.. Is he a joyous boy with a head full of black wavy hair and with green eyes?"
"Yeah, he was," Said Haruhi, "So you remember?"
"I don't know," Kaori shrugged, "I feel like I heard of him before."
At this, Haruhi decided to drop this topic, "Let's just continue with my story."
"Wait," Kaori interrupted, "What were you to Haru?"
"Pardon?" Haruhi asked back blankly.
Kaori said it again clearly this time, "How do you know him? What were you to him?"
"Oh," Haruhi said, "I was like a younger sister to Haru. You see, the village I used to live in was destroyed by the corrupted spirits. All the villagers except me has died in the casualty. Haru found me and took me in as his younger sister. He took care of me without anyone knowing. I lived with his family until I was grown enough to live on my own. In that time of my stay in his house, I was like a friend whom he used to share everything with."
"And the most thing he used to talk about is you."
"Me?" Kaori asked in surprise as she pointed herself.
"Yes," Haruhi continued, "When he first took the job to be your server, he came home really bright and energetic. I had asked the reason behind it and he told me that he had decided to serve someone as a shinki. He also told me with pride that he would do his best and take care of his responsibilities. That day, if I had known that that bright and happy boy would turn all gloomy and depressed one day.. I would have tried to be there for him."
"As days passsed by, Haru started to open up with me less and less. He wouldn't talk to me about anything at all in particular. He used to be by himself at home and he would look tired when he came back home from the headquarters. I had thought that maybe I shouldn't put my nose into those business because I can't ask him about the headquarters. It wasn't something I related to. Thus, we fell apart."
"But I still remember how he admired you. How much he loved you and how much you meant to him as a friend. It kind of made me want to meet this person he always talked about with so much happiness and energy. But I never got the chance to."
"Like this, one day he called me to his room. It was one of those dark days. When I went into his room, he looked as if he had been crying and he looked broken. However, he talked to me nicely. That was the day when I learned about treasure guides."
"He had told me that he was the treasure guide of Kazuma-sensei, the previous headmaster, I think. He also told me what it was and everything. Then he told me something that made me come here today."
Kaori asked away as soon as Haruhi stopped to take a breath, "What did he say?"
Haruhi smiled at the question, "I'll come to that later. So, I learned acrobatic skills from Haru and also learned some other skills from him, too. I am not like you guys are, I don't have any abilities. So I had no reason to go into the headquarter of your clan. But Haru told me that I should enter the headquarters. He also said something about being your treasure guide or something. He had said many other things that I didn't remember because I thought he was just talking nonsense out of depression. Then on another day, he was taking leave to go back to the headquarters when he looked for me."
"I appeared before him to hear him say that he might not come back this time. Because he needed to stay at the headquarters for a much longer time since some troubles were going on over there. He then gave me a hug as a farewell. I had told him to be careful as anyone would. I didn't want anything bad happen to him since he was my only brother. He had also pressed his hands on the sides of my head as an assurance and gave me a tight lipped smile while saying that he would."
"After that day, he didn't come back home for almost a month. And ever since he had left, I had started to have weird dreams. I didn't know if they were really dreams or not because they seemed like they were someone's memories. By a month then, I had learned a lot about the headquarter and everything related to the Power Clan with the help of those weird dreams. From those dreams, I had also learned about you. I still don't know if those were just dreams or memories but I know that what I saw had actually happened in real life. Because the incidents Haru used to share with me completely matched with the incidents that happened in the dreams."
"Thus, I had found out that something had changed within me. I always wondered why did this change suddenly occur when I finally found it out after I heard about Haru's death."
"Haru died?!" Kaori exclaimed.
"Didn't I say that before?" Haruhi was taken aback by this sudden exclamation.
"No, you didn't. No wonder you were using past tense!" Kaori exclaimed again.
"Okay, I'm sorry. Yes, Houtarou Haru has died long ago. It's been maybe.. Three years? Or even longer, I don't actually know," Haruhi pondered out aloud.
"Anyway," She grasped the previous topic again, "After I heard about Haru's death, I remembered all the things he ever told me before he left the hoouse for the last time. He had wanted to make me enter the headquarter and watch over you, he had asked me to be your treasure guide, he had told me to protect you if it is needed. Now that I think about it, he had always requested me to do things for you out of outmost worry."
"That was when I remembered that day when we said goodbye, he had held my head with his hand. And after that, I started to have dreams in my sleep. Then I finally put the puzzles together - Haru had shared his memories with me before he left. Just like you unintentionally shared your memories with me that day when you touched me. It was his memories that played in my mind when I was asleep. He had left everything he had to me so that there wouldn't be any hindrance for me to help you."
"He truly cared for me," Kaori sighed, "I feel so disturbed to have forgotten such important people of my life."
Haruhi caught the sentence, "Did you forget anyone else?"
Kaori nodded at the question, "Yeah. I can't seem to recognize this person named 'Yamaken'. And now I can't remember Haru, too."
Haruhi's eyes narrowed as she became silent, "Did you forget anything else?"
"I don't know," Kaori shrugged in reply, "Maybe? Maybe not? Who knows?" She said, full of uncertainty.
"I think you have a big problem coming up ahead. Your memories are in danger, Kaori," Haruhi said importantly, dropping the honorifics.
"Yeah, I know," Kaori said indifferently, "The doctor said that this would happen. Anyway, forget about me. What happened afterwards?"
Haruhi began again in a worried tone, "After that, I decided to do what he had told me to do. I did some research on the clan and I found out that you've been made the headmaster. So I immediately came over and started following you. And right now, here I am!" She gave a toothy smile at Kaori who smiled back softly.
"Haru..." Kaori muttered. "I want to get my memories back.." she stated, determined.
Haruhi watched the worried looking girl before her. She had already decied to be of the ultimate help to her. She decided to promise Haru that she would be there for Kaori. So then, if she can help Kaori through the most easiest way, why wouldn't she? Besides, she already began to like this girl. Kaori had something in her. No wonder that Haru was crazy for this little cool friend of his.
Haruhi's lips twitched into a smile as she remembered the face of Haru when he talked about Kaori.
𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳... 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦.
Set to her decision, Haruhi spoke to Kaori, "I have a way to help you regain your memories."
⭐🌟⭐❤⭐❤⭐❤⭐❤⭐❤⭐❤⭐🌟⭐