Laughter bounced off the walls of Akatsuki's unconscious mind. It was an aerie laugh, one of a small child. Each time the laugh trickled inside his head, Akatsuki's heartbeat grew more frantic.
Images of a young girl flitted by within the darkness. Her hair was as black as the void, and her eyes pierced his soul. The young girl's other features were blurred and flickered as if they were on damaged film. Time ran its marathon as Akatsuki's mind fought to once again regain its consciousness.
Before long, the laughter was replaced by murmurs that slowly jumbled their way into muffled words. Akatsuki's eyelids slowly fluttered open, blinking away the oily void once again.
"It's quite the miracle that she was able to make it so far from her bed..." Akatsuki's eyes once again slowly closed as he fought to stay awake. "Yes, as I told you, the enchantments on her garments kept her muscles stimulated and her body from falling apart, but even still for her to push herself so hard." The man's voice had cleared, but Akatsuki hesitated to open his eyes.
The man's voice was calm and collected, something Akatsuki would expect from a scholar or doctor. He could tell others were in the room, but Akatsuki struggled to split his focus. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pinpoint where the others were in the room.
"Why would she even get up out of her bed?" Another man's voice came from Akatsuki's immediate left, and he had to stop himself from jumping. It was as if the voice was right next to his ear. The man sounded worried, and for some reason, Akatsuki felt the urge to reach out and hug the man. It was strange, to say the least, and Akatsuki wondered if he had indeed lost his mind.
"She woke up after five years, only to be left alone and scared; it's only natural she'd go searching for someone." The scholar explained.
'Five years?!' Akatsuki panicked.
"It seems someone has once again joined us, though." As the scholar spoke, Akatsuki could all but feel his gaze burning into him, and having nothing to lose, Akatsuki slowly opened his eyes, squinting slightly at the room's bright light.
"Oh my…" The words of a woman were cut off by a sob, and Akatsuki's body moved on its own. His head snapped to the right side so he could see the woman. It was as if instincts Akatsuki didn't understand kicked in.
Unfortunately, pain flared in Akatsuki's neck before he could take in the woman's appearance. It was so immense threatened to take him under again. To Akatsuki's surprise, tears formed in his eyes as he sucked in a quick breath.
"Easy now, I know you want to see your mother, but you've been asleep for a long time Ashley. Sudden movements could cause serious pain and injury." What Akatsuki now assumed was a doctor spoke from his left.
Akatsuki found himself resisting the urge to jerk his head. He had forgotten the man was there. Slowly he turned to the left to get the man within his field of view. His eyes were golden, almost the shade of honey. It was the second pair of eyes he had seen that was an abnormal color since waking up, and somehow he doubted it was contacts.
"Mother?" The question slipped out as Akatsuki's tired mind processed the doctor's statement.
The man frowned, and his change in expression emphasized his old age. His wrinkles deepened, and worry played itself across his face. Once brown hair faded into ash, it made Akatsuki wonder just how old the man honestly was.
"I was afraid of this, her wound was nasty, but the blow to her head caused damage. Not even holy magic could mend..." The man paused deep in thought, and Akatsuki tried to understand just what the man was saying.
Since he had woken up, the people around him had been speaking a language he had never learned, yet he understood it and could even speak without a problem. It was as if he had spoken the langue his whole life. However, that word stumped him, and it played over and over inside Akatsuki's head.
'Magic?!?'
The unfamiliar word only worsened Akatsuki's panic, something Akatsuki was already not used to feeling. In fact, he had been sure the organization had beaten that out of him, yet he was on the verge of hyperventilating for the second time that day.
"What are you getting at, doc." The man on Akatsuki's left spoke once again, and once again, Akatsuki found himself surprised to see the man there. He was starting to really worry about his mind.
Upon seeing Akatsuki's panic, the man hid his own worry donning a soft smile. He placed a hand on Akatsuki's own as he spoke. The words were gentle and kind, and Akatsuki was surprised to find they soothed his panic ever so slightly.
"Everything is going to be okay, sweetie."
Although the words alleviated some of his stress, Akatsuki decided to show his fear in an unknown situation was far from what he should be doing. Emotions are a weakness, one easily exploited. The people around him seemed nice enough, but that could all change at a moment's notice. Besides, he still didn't understand what was going on and who had done this to him, so Akatsuki donned his own expression, his first tool that long predated the organization and his days in espionage. He wore his mask, in this case, a soft smile.
'Old habits, huh' Akatsuki thought dryly.
"Let me ask you a few questions, dear." The doctor made sure he had Akatsuki's attention before continuing. "What is your name." Akatsuki hesitated, blinking a few times before answering.
"Ashley." Akatsuki decided to answer with the name he had been called moments ago. The man had a bit of laughter in his eyes as he responded.
"And the man who just spoke to you, who is he." The man had a knowing smile.
Akatsuki cursed the man inside his head. He didn't know the man's identity, but he could make an inferred guess if the woman next to him was his mother, then, of course, the man next to her must be...
"Papa?" He asked innocently. The man's eyes narrowed, never betraying their laughter.
"And his name." This Akatsuki did not know, and he decided then and there that the doctor was far more than he seemed. He had been suspicious of the man, just from how he held himself; as the bartender said, they just had a look about them.
"I do not know," Akatsuki answered honestly this time and could feel a red form on his cheeks.
'Am I really embarrassed for being caught in a lie? What is wrong with me?!' Of course, Akatsuki knew intellectually that this was not his body. It didn't have years of muscle memory and practice controlling his physical responses to emotion. Still, he couldn't help but grimace at his lack of control.
The man started to ask about the women, but Akatsuki, being tired, in pain, and caught in a lie, was over the conversation.
"I do not know her name either." The man laughed this time. If it was to soothe the growing tension in the room or simply at the fact that he had caught Akatsuki's lie, he did not know. The man was far too sly.
"There is no need to worry. With a bit of time, I'm sure you'll remember." He gave a soft, kind smile and patted the top of Akatsuki's head. "Ashley, you've been in a serious accident, and it seems your memory has been affected, but I'm glad to see your personality is still intact." The man's smile was kind, and Akatsuki found it comforting despite his apprehension towards the entire situation.
"Don't worry, don't worry, it will come back with time." the man closed his eyes as if in deep thought. "To be honest, we were quite worried, you know, an attack from any corrupted beast can kill. Luckily those wounds healed long ago, and I'm sure given enough time and stimulation, your mind will heal as well." He sighed as if disappointed. "Unfortunately, to my knowledge, wounds to the mind cannot be healed traditionally nor through magic.
During the talk, the man turned towards Akatsuki's supposed parents. It was clear he was speaking more to them, than Akatsuki himself. Akatsuki even suspected the man assumed the information went over Akatsuki's head.
"She doesn't remember..." a voice that could break a soul spoke out. The woman, who was supposedly his body's mother, wept. Akatsuki could feel a mix of emotions attack his heart as he watched the woman cry, sobbing between breaths as she tried to speak. "She came back... but, but. She doesn't remember?" The voice was broken, and the statement came out in a question as if she was asking the very world, perhaps even God.
The emotions that gripped Akatsuki's heart took him by surprise, and he had to fight tooth and nail not to break down weeping himself. It was as if everything the woman felt, he also felt. It was something even Akatsuki, who had never even seen his birth mother, could understand. He felt the love and sorrow of a mother for the first time in his two lives.
While Akatsuki warred with emotions in his heart, his so-called father comforted the woman in his arms, softly whispering to her. The doctor frowned, his wrinkles deepening. It was clear seeing the woman like this was almost painful for him, or perhaps it was the entire situation.
"I'm feeling a bit tired…." Akatsuki gripped his head for effect. "This is a lot." He spoke and found that he truly meant the words. He had woken up in some strange place filled with unfamiliar people. People who claimed to have a relationship with him, he didn't even fully understand. Although he had often thought of his employees as a family of sorts. The emotions he felt now far outweighed anything in his past. Akatsuki closed his eyes, a headache coming from the feelings and thoughts that seemed to clash inside his mind.
"Yes, yes, we don't want to overstimulate her. Perhaps her memories will come back, but for now, rest." As the man spoke, he placed a hand on Akatsuki's cheek, and a warmth trickled into his body.
At first, Akatsuki had tensed at the sudden touch, even starting to open his eyes, but as the warmth spread throughout his body, slowly, his warring ming calmed. Motes of pain that flared all around his body calmed down, and the energy that seeped into him felt like a fresh spring forest. Akatsuki's consciousness lulled.
"Perhaps when you wake, you'll remember just who the noble young woman, Ashley Von Blanc was."
Akatsuki could barely register the doctor's words before the spring-like energy drifted him into a comfortable sleep.