♦⊱ Chapter 26 - Home ⊰♦

Ruka pov:

I groaned, awaking at the sound of an annoying beeping in the background. My body felt heavy, my mind muddled. It was a few minutes before I opened my eyes, squinting at the sharp light I was greeted by. My vision was hazy but cleared out soon enough. Above me was a clean white ceiling.

It took me a few minutes to gather enough energy to sit up and view my surroundings. I tensed at the sight of a clean hospital room. An IV tube was strapped to my hand and a heart-rate monitoring system was beeping with a constant update of my pulse and blood pressure. The thin curtains of the window on one of the walls fluttered in the light breeze.

I clenched my fists and the beating of my heart noticeably quickened as I recalled what had happened before I passed out. I had just married Kichiro sama and we were out on a walk in the strolling gardens before Tomoki and his men attacked. A thunderstorm had begun and there was a flash of lightning and then...oh my goodness.

Could I have returned to my time because of the lightning? That had to be it...there was no other explanation for my situation!

Or...had I been dreaming all this time? Were all the memories I had of being with Lady Kana and Tomoki and Kichiro sama all mere hallucinations?

I shook my head. They couldn't be hallucinations, not when I remembered them so clearly! I remembered every single detail including the pain I had felt when I had been punished by Kichiro sama for running away from him. The whole two years I had been in the past couldn't possibly be a dream!

I chewed on my bottom lip, brooding. My gaze was fixated on the thin sheet that covered my legs – I was in a way happy that had returned to my world because I would be able to see my family and friends but the thought of never seeing Kichiro sama again made my heart ache. If I had returned, surely there would be no way for me to go back to the past, right? I had come home...for good.

I nearly jumped out of my skin as my thoughts were interrupted by the hospital room door sliding open. I sucked in a sharp breath, my body tensing and my eyes prickling when I saw none other than my mother at the door. She had frozen too, watching me with wide eyes. Tears welled in her eyes before she dropped the cover she was holding and ran over to me. She threw her arms around me to embrace me tightly, her body trembling as she cried.

"Oh, Ruka! My dear Ruka!" she wailed, tightening her hold on me.

Tears welling in my eyes as well and I wrapped my arms around her in return. I closed my eyes, mumbling into her shoulder, "Mother."

She let go of me soon, only to cup my cheeks and place a kiss on my forehead. A few more tears fell from my closed eyes as I relished her affection, realizing just how much I had missed it. She then embraced me again and we stayed like that for several minutes.

"How do you feel?" she asked when she let go of me and we had calmed down a bit.

"Alright, for the most part. I'm a little sore though," I answered, sighing at the ache I felt in my body. "What happened to me?"

"That's what we have to ask you!" she responded in a scolding tone. "You suddenly disappeared and you were gone two years, Ruka! Do you know how worried we were? How heartbroken we were when we couldn't find you even though we looked so much for you? Your father was so depressed and...we thought we had lost you forever."

"I-I...I don't..." I stuttered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"The police found you unconscious in alley a week ago and you were unconscious this whole time. Ruka...what happened to you?"

"I...I don't remember," I said softly.

What else could I tell her? Surely, no one would believe me if I said that I had traveled four hundred years into the past and I was living there with the then emperor and married him and...it sounded crazy even to me even though I was sure that every moment I remembered of it had been real.

"Oh, my poor daughter, how much you must have suffered," she cooed and embraced me again. "Let's all just think that this was a bad dream. You're back now and that's all that matters."

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat from the mixed feelings I was having. How could I consider the past two years as nothing more than a dream, a bad one at that? Being in the past and falling in love with Kichiro sama was beautiful, memories that I would never be able to forget and that would haunt me because I could never experience heart-warming emotions or moments with Kichiro sama again. I missed him already.

I took a deep breath and blinked back the tears that threatened to escape. I smiled when Mother let go of me and caressed my head affectionately. We heard a gasp soon after and we looked to the door. A smile made its way onto my face at the sight of Kojiro, all grown up, a middle school student now. My eyes stung again but I laughed as he sprinted to me and nearly toppled me over in a hug. I held him back, giving him a pat on the back.

"Kojiro, you're all grown up," I mumbled and cupped his face when he let go of me. "You've become very handsome, a fine young man."

"I missed you, Onee chan," he said, smiling despite the nose-clogged expression he had.

I went through another emotional drama with Papa when he entered the room and saw me awake. By the time everyone settled and the doctor had come in for a checkup, it was late. Kojiro stayed with me in the room and Mother and Papa went home reluctantly after telling me that they would be back early the next morning.

Kojiro and I turned in for the night and I wasn't able to hold in tears anymore, overwhelmed by everything that had happened. Tired after a crying session, I finally fell into dreamless sleep.

>>Time Skip

"Thank you for taking care of me," I bow to the doctor, having finished with the discharge process. The doctor had insisted on keeping me here for two days under observation before I was certified good to go.

I had kept up the amnesia act despite their pressing me to remember what had happened over the two years I was missing. They gave up after a few tests and trials and settled to believing that the unexpected side effect of the stress I had been under would heal with time. Besides, Mother and Papa had insisted the doctors not to force me to remember because they didn't want me to recall anything traumatic...if I had been through something like that anyway.

Thanking the doctor once again, we left the hospital. We took a taxi home – the drive was just about fifteen minutes but through a neighborhood I didn't really know. We came to a stop in front of an apartment complex instead of our mansion. When we got out of the taxi, I gave Mother a questioning look.

"We lost most of our money, dear," she answered my unasked question. "Your father wasn't able to concentrate much on his job after we lost you and, well, some things happened and we used the remainder of our earnings trying to look for you. We live in this apartment complex now...it's not as big as our house used to be but it's cozy and homey."

"Mother, I...I'm so sorry. Because of me-"

"You shouldn't apologize, Ruka," said Papa, placing a hand on my shoulder. I met his eyes, my own a little teary in guilt for how much I had put my family through. "I would give up anything in the world to protect you and Kojiro. What happened was not your fault – it was just meant to be this way. So, don't worry, alright?"

"Still, Papa...everything was going so well for you but-"

"Hush, Ruka," cooed Mother, interrupting me. "We're still happy and have no trouble for food or rent. We're doing fine and we're even happier now that you've returned! Let's go inside now – I hope you're hungry for your favorite curry!"

"Am I ever," I replied smiling. I felt really apologetic towards my family for what I had caused but said nothing for I didn't want to make them feel bad.

Our house was on the second floor. It was a cozy house, though much smaller than our mansion. There was a living room, a dining room with an open kitchen, a balcony, two rooms, and two bathrooms. It looked like Kojiro and I would have to share a room.

"Mother, where's Sparks?" I asked, noticing that I hadn't received an enthusiastic greeting from him.

"We had to give him up, Ruka – we couldn't afford taking care of him. But don't worry, he's with people who love him very much and are taking good care of him."

"Oh," I said in mild disappointment. But I understood that there was nothing else that could be done. Perhaps I could visit him sometime though...

Dinner was pleasant. We had light-hearted conversations through our meal – I was sort of updated on everything that had happened since the time I disappeared. Papa had a government job now and Mother worked as a chef at a restaurant; which classified us into a middle-class family. They just earned enough money to get by on a daily basis so I volunteered to pitch in on the family income by taking up a job too. I would work part-time and catch up on my studies in the remaining time so I could at least finish the basic level of education that would help me survive in the real world without too much trouble. Well, I was usually quite good at studies so I was sure that I would be able to get a good score and secure a decent job after I graduated.

Post dinner and after a group call filled with wails from Kiyo, Yuri and Akira, I headed over to the park close-by to meet them. Mother and Papa were worried to let me go alone and insisted on accompanying me – they were surely afraid that they would lose me again like they had lost me two years ago. However, I convinced that that everything would be alright and they finally let me leave to meet my friends.

As expected, my friends and I fell into a group hug the minute we saw each other. The three of them had grown up too and Akira was a very handsome high schooler now. I was complimented on my appearance, especially on my long hair, and we spend a good two hours catching up on everything.

When it was midnight, we dispersed. Kiyo, Yuri and Akira left first, in the direction opposite to my house, while I remained in the park for a while. Despite the happy reunion I had had with family and friends, I felt restless and sad. I wanted some alone-time to think, to take in the sudden lapse in everything that had happened.

I took a slow stroll through the park, looking at the trees and bushes on either side of the pathway. I reached the lookout-gazebo at the center of the park soon enough and climbed to the very top platform so I could look at the city I had grown up in. I stood near the railings and closed my eyes as a gentle breeze caressed my skin and fluttered the loose strands of my hair.

I was pulled back into memories of the time I had spent 400 years in the past – especially those of the long walks I had taken with Kichiro sama through his beautiful Strolling Garden. I opened my eyes that had tears welled in them – everything that had happened in these past two years was no dream. Every vivid detail I recalled were precious memories that would probably remain as just memories forever.

I inhaled deeply, blinking back the tears. I felt so lonely suddenly, desperate to be with Kichiro sama. I shook my head though, to calm down. I dabbed off the tears that had collected in my eyes and headed home. I entered the house while making sure I didn't wake anyone. I stepped into my room and smiled at Kojiro who was fast asleep. I caressed his head once before I got under the blanket on my mattress.

I didn't sleep much that night, floating in an out with incomprehensible dreams. Kojiro's alarm woke me and I sat up to stretch even though I was under-rested. I raised a brow when I looked at Kojiro though – he was squirming under his blanket, searching for his alarm with his hand. He had always had trouble waking up early and it seemed it hadn't changed.

Having successfully turned off the alarm, he fell asleep again. I shook my head and stood to pull the covers off him. He groaned and cracked open an eye to look at me. I put a hand on my hip and said, "You should get up, Kojiro, unless you want to be late for school."

"Onee chan..." he whined.

I clicked my tongue then crumpled the blanket into a ball. I threw it at him and he sighed, "Alright, alright, I'm up."

I gave him a few minutes to wake fully while I washed up first. Mother and Papa were already up and ready – while Papa was reading the newspaper, Mother was preparing breakfast. I helped her set up the table and when Kojiro joined us at the table wearing his middle school uniform, I gave him a smug smile.

"Something tells me someone has a lot of fangirls in school," I teased and he blushed.

"W-wha-how did you know?" he mumbled, poking at his food in fluster.

"Hey, I was in middle school too, you know? And a girl knows a handsome guy when she sees one." My comment made him blush more and the rest of us laughed.

After breakfast, I left the house with everyone to look for a job. I had pushed aside the thoughts of the past two years because whether I had been 400 years in the past or not didn't matter now. I had the responsibility of supporting my family. But I was contemplating on whether I should tell my family what really happened sometime – it was only right for them to know and it was going be difficult to keep up the amnesia act for very long.

I put on a smile despite the slight throb in my chest because I had a good feeling about today. I was sure that I would find a job because I had qualifications higher than most high schoolers. And I hoped that I could find a job that paid well – well enough that it would help my family as much as we needed it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The boy in the picture is adorable Kojiro ^^

Welp. Ruka is back in her time with no clue on whether she'll ever go back to see Kichiro sama again, let alone know if there's a way for that to happen T-T What will happen to Kichiro sama now??

Vote!

COMMENT!!!

:D