Fade to Death

Chapter 4: A New Family for a New Life

As he woke, he recognized the smell of blood. In the water's reflection, he saw something strange. His body was covered in marks. Trying to stand, he remembered the excrutiating pain in his chest. Suddenly, he couldn't breath. He gasped for air, but it was useless. He closed his eyes, and this time, he was in a bed. He heard a familiar voice. He ran towards it until he saw her. Nani was laughing and greeting him. Suddenly, when he got closer, her shouts of joy turned into cries of despair. "Kira!!! Aaaahhhh!" she screamed and fell on the ground. He ran towards her, but never seemed to reach her. Suddenly, he felt as if he was falling. The memory faded away and soon he was falling into a bottomless pit of nothingness. He felt empty. "Wake up... Wake up..." a voice dragged on.

"Sir, are you awake?" a nurse asked. He rose up and grasped his shirt tightly, noticing that his chest wound wasn't there anymore.

"Where am I?" he asked. "You're in the hospital. We found you in a cave at Blood-Stained Forest. You didn't have any identification on you when you were found. What's your name?" she replied.

"I don't understand what you're saying. My name? I don't know my name." he said, remembering only a stabbing pain in his chest and that nightmare he had just had (however he suddenly couldn't remember who Nani, the girl in his dream, was).

"Great, amnesia." she mummured.  

 "Who am I? How did I end up in cave?" he asked, trying to understand the situation.

"Do you remember anything?" the nurse asked. "I remember someone stabbing me in the chest from the back and then, the dream I just woke up from." he said confusingly.

"Well, you did have a flesh wound. But it wasn't in your chest. If it was, you would've died. You were stabbed from the back. Still, you suffered severe damage to your brain and internal organs." the nurse stated. He thought about this in silence.

"Well, what now?" he finally asked, not knowing what to expect. But the nurse had already slipped out the door.  

 He knew something was wrong. But, he couldn't remember. Then, the pain started once again. Yes, it happened to him a lot. Every now and then, the pain would suddenly increase and decrease. But it would never go away entirely. He decided not to tell because he knew it would only cause more trouble.  

 Kira remained in the hospital for a month, since his case was severe. To them, he was only 16 years old. So, he was temporarily placed under the care of the head doctor. That's where everything changes.

The head doctor, Ms. Marsha Saunshue, had a 16 year-old daughter nicknamed Kiki. So, Ms. Saunshue decided to take him under his care as his legal guardian (this occurs when the underaged person has lost his/her parents and doesn't have any more family he/she can go to). Since Kira had no memory of his name, he decided to go by Jonas. He thought it suited him quite nicely, but he still felt lost. 

Kira is given his own bedroom and enrolled in the same school as Kiki. Kiki is sitting on the sofa in the living room. Her head (hair too) and eyes are covered by a beanie. She wears a black hoodie jacket with worn out black high top sneakers and skinny jeans. She holds a book in her hand. Although she's not reading it, but actually playing on her phone and listening to music on her earbuds. 

She takes off her earbuds and rudely asks: "So, you're the orphan?"

"Kiki! Manners! We have a guest." her mother nagged. Kiki scoffed.

"Anyways, just don't disturb me and you'll fit right in. Ok?" she said in happily sarcastic voice. Then, she ran up the stairs. Soon after, the sound of a door closing echoed through the house.

"Are you wondering about her face? I mean, why it's covered like that?" Marsha asks. Kira nods.

"Kiki was born with a rare disease that almost killed her. She was saved but four years ago, her eyes changed color and she went blind. Her hair is another story only she can tell you." Kira's face looked intrigued.