Into The Rose Garden (Seidou x Kanae/Karren)

Chapter Twenty-seven - The search (Part 1)

I slowly open my eyes, with the first thing I saw was all white. My body was freezing, and I was shivering like crazy. I take a deep breath, then I breathe out. The air was cold, the ground was cold, even my drenched body was...freezing!

I grumble, my body unmoving. I can't seem to move. "A-Ahh..." I struggle to make a simple, and small sound from my mouth. My head begins produce thoughts and recalls events that have occurred. 

'Seidou...' I thought to myself weakly. I jolt my eyes open, as well as my upper body. "Seigou-!"  I call out. A sharp pain hits me, and I gasp. I look around frantically. "Seigou...Seigou?!" Where was he?!

'Seidou...where is he?! H-He can't be far!' I thought to myself.

I slowly move my body up, getting feeling back from within my arms. I try lifting myself up, only to tremble and collapse back down. "Oof-!" I slowly move my head back up, my body was way too fragile at the moment.

Not much later, I try again, even slower and more carefully. I eventually manage to sit up, and work myself up carefully. I eventually stand up, trembling and shivering. 

'I-It's freezing...!' I thought to myself. I look around once more, nothing. No body, no creature, no Seidou, just nothing. 

"Seig...gou!!!" I cry out as loud as I possibly could. I hold my throat as my vocal cords began to sear with pain; I couldn't afford to lose them too.

I take a deep breath, holding myself and calling out Seidou's name a little more quietly. "Sei...gou..." I whispered softly, with a feeling of defeat. I just got him out, and I lost him. I couldn't afford to lose another friend... Especially considering that I lost Seidou once...and I wasn't going to lose him again.

'Kaneki...what would you do...?' I thought to myself quietly. I sigh deeply, touching my uncovered face, flinching from the touch. A small tear began to form around my eye. I sigh harshly, feeling the regret and hardship kick in from my throat to my chest, as I attempt to cry out the name of the lost male.

"Seig..." I sniff, allowing the tear to fall gracefully down. "Gou...!" I cried.

Something must've happened to him while I was out of it, I think...he saved me. He brought me here, to this very beach, that I know for sure happened. Otherwise I wouldn't have been there now.

But why wasn't he there with me? Did he...? Did someone take him? Did he leave to go get some help? Either way, I need to look for him. I just needed to! But right now...I needed to get myself some help.

I slowly walk my way to the nearest road; it wasn't really busy, but I had to get help.

I hold myself, trying everything I could to keep myself warm. I didn't have my mask, so maybe my half-bandaged face will bring in some suspicion. I don't know.

I see a car driving closer. 'Jackpot!' I thought to myself, waving my hand up in their direction. They slow down a little, probably trying to get a closer look at me. Soon enough, an elderly woman opens her door, looking at me directly.

"Hey there, son, what in the world are you doing out here? Without a jacket no less... Come in, the doors are unlocked!"

I tilt my head, a little confused. I appreciated the kind gesture, but...she didn't question me about anything... Now that is unconditional kindness. 

I open the back door gently, with a small girl unbuckling and scooting from the middle seat to the one further away. I smile to myself softly, and I respectfully sit by the further end as well. 

The elder male scoffs, turning to the woman. "Rin, are you sure about this...? I mean he-!" "Oh calm down Ryan, you know me...I always know who's a good or bad person, just from seeing them. And that saved our lives on many occasions." She ends her statement with a laugh, to which the male scoffs.

The couple in question was...quite interesting. Not just because the husband appeared to have been a foreigner, but just their...energy.

Rin clears her throat. "Sorry, but where do you need to go?" Silence. She looks back at me. "Where do you need to-?" I tap my throat gently, hinting at the fact I can hardly speak. "Elp...eeee... Annn't alk! Fweid iz iiinnnn..." "O-Oh, I'm sorry, you can't speak...can you...?"

She looks into my awfully worried eyes, with me shaking my head. She gasps. "Oh! I have a note pad and pen on me; I use it whenever I have something caught and stuck in my mind. You can use that, I won't mind."

I nod. "Aaank...ooo..." She giggles softly. As she searches, she starts conversation. "Oh, sorry I haven't introduced myself! Hi...my name Rin Howin." She then gently touches the elder male's shoulder. "This is my husband, Ryan Howin." He scoffs.

Rin soon finds the notepad and pen, handing it to me and pointing out the young girl. "And that is our granddaughter, Emmi." I nod happily, feeling a small weight off of my chest.

I write down a few things. I hand it to her, and she takes it to read.

'Hello, my name is Hideyoshi Nagachika.'

'Please take me to the hospital, I'm not feeling well.'

'I lost my friend, and I need to get better as soon as possible, before I can go looking for him...'

She finishes reading, and looks up at me. "I-I'm sorry to hear about that, really..." To turns to the male. "Ryan...we need to take this young man to the nearest hospital, please..." The male frowns, nodding. "Consider it done." She smiles softly. "Thanks hun, I owe you..." "You owe me nothing."

I sit in silence, thinking only to myself. That is until...Emmi reads the notepad. Looking up at me, she asks her little questions.

"How old are you?" I scribble, then I show her. 

'Nineteen, but twenty in the summer.'

"Wow you're pretty old! That's how old my cousin is!" Did...not feel good when she said that, if I'm going to be honest...

"Why aren't you feeling good, do you have a cold...?" She asked with great concern.

'I don't know, maybe? I might, considering how long I've been out there.'

She tilts her head slightly. "What happened to your friend...?" I pause...looking down, softly scribbling.

'I don't know...that's what I want to find out. We...got separated, you can say. We just got away from some very bad people.'

She tilts her head again. "What bad people...? Why were you with them?" I smile to myself, thinking of a...less scary and less realistic version.

'We were trying to save a gorgeous princess, but she got away on her own. So...we had to go there for nothing.'

Little Emmi begins to giggle and smile warmly.

Throughout the ride, Emmi and I joked, laughed, and even shared our dreams. With Emmi telling me hers. "I wanna be a ivestigator-!" "An investigator, sweetie~!" Rin corrected. "Oh, right! I wanna be an investigator, just like grandma was! I wanna be tough, protective, but also very kind and gentle. Just like her!" She pauses before continuing. "And if I can't work it out, I wanna be a doctor, or nurse."

I smile to myself. 'Wow, she's got those kind of dreams. Like...she just wants to help people...like me...Kaneki, and even Seidou. She's so sweet, I hope she doesn't change.' I thought to myself.

Before we knew it, we made it to the hospital. I open the door gently. "What do we say, Emmi?" Emmi begins to wave at me, smiling brightly. "Bye-bye!" I wave back, smiling through my bandages. Then...they drive off.

And there, I turned my attention to the hospital; planning my next move.