The young man then lowers me down gently, I'm still a bit shocked that it took me a while to regain my balance and composure. I finally get a good look at him now that we have some space between us. He looks like he's in his late 20's or early 30's. He has pale fair skin, curly waist length black hair with bangs covering his forehead. His expression is quite neutral, he's wearing a dark purple kimono that seems torn and ruined. The thing that stuck out the most are his crimson eyes, they're so unique but beautiful, in a way it reminds me of Inuyasha, demon eyes.

"Uhm... thank you for saving me." I say to him with a bow.

He looks at me, his expression still unchanging.

"What were you doing?" He asks me.

His voice is low, calm and rich. It's quite soothing to be honest.

"I was trying to get that injured bird up there on the branch, but I fell." I say pointing up at the tree.

He follows me finger and turns to look up at the tree, after he does that he lunges towards the tree. My eyes goes wide as I see him leaping towards the tree, my eyes follows him as I see him jumping up onto the branch with grace and gently scooping up the bird and the landing onto the ground. I blink to refocus at what I just saw, and I run up to him. He stands up and holds the bird in his hand and looks at it.

"You got it. Thank you. How did you do that? Are you a demon by chance?" I ask him.

He hands the bird to me and I cup it in my hands, being careful not to hurt it more. He looks back at me with his red eyes.

"I am. And you, you're a human..." he replies calmly.

Guess I was right, those eyes are eyes that no human can possess, only demons. Also, no humans can jump that high and move with such grace. Like Inuyasha and Shippo, I'm not scared of him, I'm fascinated. He doesn't seem like a bad guy as well.

"Yes, yes I am. It's nice to meet you. I'm___________. What's your name?" I ask him with a smile.

He looks at me with white pupils surrounded in fire's colors. His brows slightly relaxes.

"___________. That's a nice name..." he says with a slight smile.

"Thanks, and you?" I ask him again.

"It's Naraku." He replies.

My eyes slightly widens a little as I hear his name. Is it the same Naraku that Inuyasha and the others mentioned? It can't be... the Naraku that they said is so evil, but him... he saved an injured bird and myself. I decided to put that thought aside and just focus on getting to know him.

"Naraku... quite an interesting name. Who gave you that name? Why is it Naraku? I mean, don't you feel like that the name, Naraku might put you in a bad light?" I ask him.

Naraku looks to the side and turns around, the spring breeze gently blowing our hair.

"I don't know. I... don't remember anything from my past..." He answers me.

Don't remember? Is he suffering from amnesia? Like me? I walk up beside him and look into his eyes.

"You don't remember anything? What do you remember? Anything? Anything at all, like where you came from?" I ask him again.

"The only thing that I remember is that I woke up on the ground bare, there was a woman in a cloak that told me that my name is Naraku. That was a month ago." He says looking at the cherry tree.

So he doesn't remember anything from his past till only about a month ago, I feel him. Losing a part of your memories can be stressful.

"Where are you living now? Do you live with anyone?" I ask him.

He turns to look at me.

"I came upon this place while wondering around lost, some villagers were nice enough to give me the clothes that I'm wearing now. I've been staying here by myself ever since, it's serene and peaceful here." He says with a slight smile.

My eyes gazes into his, I couldn't look away. This definitely isn't the Naraku that Inuyasha talked about.

"I came upon this place when I was 10, and I was captivated by the cherry blossom tree. For some reason though, I couldn't remember what I did after coming here that night. It's been bugging me ever since. Please don't think I'm weird or anything but, when I saw your eyes, they reminded me of someone with the exact same crimson eyes that I might have met before." I say with a slight embarrassed smile.

"Really now? Well I haven't met any other human or demon that has the same eyes that I have." He says with a slight chuckle.

"Ya you're right, demon eyes I've noticed are quite unique and one of a kind. Perhaps, maybe it was you that I met years prior. But the lack of memories puts that thought with all the doubts." I say.

He turns to look at me again, our eyes meet and I feel so drawn to them. Like a moth to a fire, I want to drown myself in them. I blink and I let out a shy smile. The bird chirps in my hands.

"Oh my, almost forgot he's still in my palms. I need to sling it's wings up to relieve the pressure." I say as I hold its injured wings.

I sit down on the grass, and I remembered that I don't have any bandages or cloth I could use. I click my tongue in frustration, what can I use as an alternative? I begin to look at the bottom of my kimono.

"Here use this." Naraku says suddenly.

I look up at him confused, in one swift motion he rips of a strip of his kimono. I gasp in a slight shock, he hands the purple cloth to me.

"Naraku, your kimono...." I say looking at the area where he just ripped off the fabric, his toned fair skin is exposed.

"Don't worry, I don't feel cold or hot." He reassures me.

I look at him again and I nod, I take the fabric and I fold it into a thin strip and tie it around the bird's neck and broken wing. I then smooth out the feathers on its head and I smile. I look back at Naraku who's looking down at the bird.

"Thank you. It should take about 2 weeks or so for it to fully heal with enough care." I say to him.

"I see... it'd be nice to see it fly off after recovering." He says quietly.

As I hear those words, I smile and an idea pops up. I stand up and walks up to him.

"How about I come here every 2 days or so and we can take care of it together until it's ready to fly?" I ask him.

He turns to look at me, his eyes slightly surprised.

"Why?" He asks me simply.

"Well you said you wanted to see it fly off after recovering. I'd like to have you experience that. Besides, it's also a part of making new memories since you can't remember your past." I say with a smile.

Naraku doesn't say anything, he just continues to look at me. I let out a small laugh.

"Also, since you said that you've been here ever since, and this is a beautiful place to me, I'd like to spend more time here. I don't want you to be alone here with no one to talk to, so I think it would be nice to get to know each other better, see what we have in common despite you being a demon and I a human. So what do you say? Is that alright?" I ask him.

Naraku's eyes looks into mine back and forth, and he finally shows me a gentle smile.

"Alright." He replies.

"Great! It'll be nice to make new friends and getting to know each other better. I have to get going now, I have about half a day of traveling to go." I say as I tuck the bird safely in my arms.

"Half a day? Sounds far. Even though you live far away, you're still willing to come here?" He asks me.

"It's only half a day or so, it's not too bad when I'm going full speed. Besides, we agreed on it, and I suggested it so I'll see it through. I'll be take the bird home with me and I'll bring it back in 2 days when I come see you. Hope you'll still be here" I say to him.

"Guess I won't be going anywhere." He says.

I smile at him and I nod.

"I'll be going then, nice to meet you Naraku and thank you for today. I'll see you soon. Goodbye." I say to him.

"Goodbye__________." He replies with a calm tone.

As I hear those words, another fragment of faint memories rushes to mind. Those two words were said to me by someone, someone who's voice is faintly similar to Naraku's. I mentally shake my mind clear and I return back to reality, I smile at him and I give him a nod. I then turn and head towards the trees, when I enter into the shadowed areas of the beautiful nature. I turn around, and in between the trees, I see Naraku still looking up at the Cherry Blossom Tree.

"See you in two days' time." I say quietly.

I then dash off into the forest and back to Boshi, I tuck the little bird safely within my kimono. I hop onto Boshi and snap the reigns, and Boshi gallops towards the road back home. The sun races against me, but in the end, nature wins and the orange sky turns dark navy blue. I finally arrive home close to midnight. Everyone's asleep, I quietly lead Boshi to the stable and let him rest. I quietly enter my estate, being careful to not awake my parents I slid along the smooth wooden floor to my room. I'll wash up in the morning, tonight I'm just tired. After closing the door to my room, I water my bloomed Freesia flower. I then open up my kimono and gently take out the injured bird, I grab a handkerchief on my table and gently wrap it up but just enough to give it enough wriggling room. It's chirping a little, I pet it's feathers to soothe it.

"You must be hungry, I'll go get you something to eat." I whisper to it.

I then get up and head to the kitchen, luckily there's cooked rice. I scoop up a small spoonful and place it in my hand, on my way back, I squished the rice together to form a small ball. I get into my room and closs the door again, I place the rice ball on my desk and I change out of my kimono and into my night wear. I then take the rice ball and slide into my futon, the little bird is beside me wrapped warmly in my handkerchief. I nip of a tiny bit of the rice and place it on my fingertip, I hold it close to it and it pecks the rice off my finger. I smile seeing that it's still able to eat. I keep nipping off little chunks of rice until it couldn't eat anymore, I then place the rice ball aside and lay my head down onto my pillow, the bird has stopped chirping, and I noticed that it's sleeping. I close my eyes as well, what a long day, but something good came out of it. I met Naraku and saved this little bird, and I had small flashes of my lost memories return to me. Although still blurry but it's something right? It's all because of Naraku, I would like to think that I've met him before. If I haven't, then why flashes of forgotten memories resurface when I look at him and hear his voice. By seeing him more I hope it can help me recover all of those forgotten memories of that night, there's something special about him, and no it's not that he's a demon. I flip onto my side and with Naraku in my mind, I fall into a deep slumber. When I open my eyes I hear the faint sound of chirping, I turn to see the little bird chirping in the handkerchief still.

"Good morning." I say to it sitting up and stretching.

I gently hold it in my hands and open up the handkerchief, I open up the cloth that is wrapped around its broken wing. After I untied it, I look at the purple cloth.

"It's Naraku's... he barely has any clothes on his back and he ripped his kimono for me to use..." I think to myself.

I gently open its wings and feel the bone, I gently open and close it to give it some movement.

"I'll take you to the eating table later and I'll feed you." I say to it.

I then grab my kimono but before I head out of my room I water my Freesia a little. I head to wash up, wow does if feel good to be clean. I come back to my room and pick up the bird, I then walk to the eating hall. The maids are up and setting up breakfast, when they saw me they got surprised.

"Lady_________, when did you come back?" One of our maid asks me.

"Good morning everyone! I got back last night around midnight, sorry, but can you get me a small dish with water?" I ask her.

"Yes of course." She replies and head back into the kitchen.

Not long after, my mother and father walks in with Sazanami. Like the maids, they got a surprise as well.

"___________, when did you get back?" My father asks me sitting down.

"Midnight." I reply.

"Ah, glad to see that you're home safe and sound." My mother says.

Sazanami comes up to me and sits down beside me and gently place a hand on my shoulder with a smile.

"Welcome back_________." She says.

"Thanks Saza." I reply placing my hand over hers.

All of us sits down and enjoy a nice breakfast together, I told them about the injured bird, but left out Naraku in the conversation. After breakfast, I decided to go into town for a walk, taking the injured bird with me. I went to a local doctor and let him check the bird's wing for any fracture, or at least let him check if anything's out of place. Luckily it's just a small joint injury and it will heal in about 2-3 weeks. After the check up, I go to stores to see if I need to get anything. As I walked I come upon a kimono shop, without knowing why, I entered it. I don't need a new kimono so why did I enter the shop? As I walked, my eyes caught onto something blue. I turn to look at what has caught my attention, it's a silk navy blue kimono with a dark purple vest. As I looked at it, a sudden small headache appeared. I close my eyes at the sudden intrusion of pain, I see a sudden faint image of a kimono similar to the kimono that I just saw. A young man with black wavy hair is wearing it, but I can't see his face. I then open my eyes and the headache slowly subsides, was that some kind of message? Regardless, I walk up to the kimono and touch the soft silk. I smile as I glide my hand on the smooth surface, suddenly a small chirp came from inside my kimono. I look down and the bird slightly poked its head out.

"You like this one?" I ask it.

The bird chirped a few more times. I then remembered the ripped fabric on Naraku's tattered kimono.

"Since Naraku saved you and ripped a part of his kimono off for you, how about let's repay him back. He has nothing so we should at least give him something to wear as a gratitude for saving your life and mine." I say to it with a smile.

So I purchased it, it looks like it would fit Naraku nicely, also it's not too expensive. When I get back home, I gently fold it up and wrap it with a string nicely. I got back home around early evening so I missed lunch time with everyone, but I ate while outside. Tomorrow I'll be going back to the Cherry Blossom Tree again, but first I have to tell my parents or at least give them a heads up. Time passes and dinner time eventually arrive, Sazanami, my parents and I all enjoy a nice dinner together, after I finish my dinner I put my chopsticks down and look at my parents.

"Mother, father. I would like to go out tomorrow for a ride with Boshi." I tell them.

"Oh? And where to?" My mother asks me.

"It's somewhere on the way to your fellow lord's town, I'm going there to see a friend." I say to them while thinking of Naraku.

"How long will you be gone for?" My father asks me.

"It will be a whole day, so I'll probably be back home the day after tomorrow most likely. Also, I'll probably be going on this trip back and forth at least 2 weeks every 2 days or so." I say to them.

"Sounds like a long ride, are you sure you can handle that much traveling in such a short period of days?" Sazanami asks me concerned.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine, I'm sure with enough rest and food I'll make it there and back without a problem." I say to them.

"Such energy, and persistent as always. I suppose it's nice for you to go out and get some fresh air instead of staying at home all day. You're an adult now, so it's time that we give you a bit of freedom. Just stay safe alright?" My father says with a smile.

"Of course, thank you father and mother. Don't worry about me Sazanami. I'll be fine." I bow to them and give Sazanami's hand a gentle squeeze to reassure her.

After dinner, I begin to take some essentials for the trip and fed the little bird.

"Tomorrow we're going to see Naraku again, you excited? He wants to see you fly again after you're all healed up. The two of us are going to watch over you till you can." I say smoothing out its feathers.

A gentle knock comes from outside of my room.

"Come in." I reply with a moderate voice level.

The door slides open slowly and Sazanami comes in.

"Oh, hi Sazanami, what's up?" I ask her placing the bird on my lap.

Sazanami walks up to me and sits down across from me.

"Just wanted to check up on you and see if you need anything for tomorrow." She replies.

"Nope, don't think I do. I suppose just the same old request of watering my Freesia." I say with a laugh.

"Of course, I won't forget so you don't need to worry. Who is this friend of yours?" She asks me.

The sudden question surprised me a little, if I told her it's a man she'll probably tease me,  but if I tell her that he's a demon, then it's another story. But, Sazanami has met Inuyasha and Shippo, and they were just like us. I'm sure she'll be fine with it. I take a deep breath, she's like my sister, so I'll tell her.

"Well to start of, this friend of mine is a he, his name is Naraku, and he's a demon." I tell her.

Sazanami's eyebrows lifts up a little then furrows.

"Naraku... that's the name that Inuyasha mentioned to us. He said that he's really evil, how on earth did you befriend him?" She asks me concerned.

"It's alright Saza, hear me out. Yes, his name is Naraku, but he's nothing like what Inuyasha said. Who knows if this Naraku is the same Naraku that he mentioned, also, he told me that he doesn't remember anything from the past, he told me he woke up in the middle of nowhere, he's a demon who suffered amnesia. He told me that a woman in a cape told him that his name is Naraku, so far he's very kind. He saved this bird and myself when I fell from a tree while trying to get it, he hasn't done anything bad." I tell her.

Sazanami looks at me and then the bird, she then sighs.

"Alright, if you trust him then I'll put my trust in you. I suppose I judged too soon. But still, be careful alright? He's a demon after all." She says furrowing her brows slightly.

"Don't worry, if he wanted to hurt me, he would have already. Sometimes, people are more frightening than demons." I say to her as I look out my window at the dark sky laced with dazzling stars.

"You're right. Get some rest, be careful and see you in a few days." She says as she gets up.

"Goodnight." I say to her as she quietly exits out of my room.

I then blow out the candles and tuck the little bird into his handherchief. I then water my Freesia flower a little and slide into my cozy futon. I close my eyes but my heart is beating quite fast, it's weird. Am I that excited to see Naraku? Well, we're still pretty  unfamiliar with each other but it's something that can be fixed with time. I give myself a mental smile and with the quietness of my room, I fall asleep. My mind falls into an unconscious realm and when I hear the faint chirping of the birds, that's when I'm pulled back into reality. I open my eyes slowly and the morning sunlight hits my vision, causing my eyes to squint. I slowly sit up and I just sit there for a few seconds to wrap my head around everything, I then turn to look at the little bird, it's still snuggled up in the handkerchief. I smile and I quietly get up. I grab my red kimono and head out to wash up, after getting ready, I take the bird with me and the kimono that I bought Naraku to the eating hall. I want to have a head start. I make myself an easy breakfast and feed the bird some rice and meat, I then packed a bit of food with me along the way and some from Naraku. Does he even need to eat? He said that he has stayed in the forest ever since, and I don't know if demons need to eat. Regardless, I'll bring some anyway. After everything's packed, I go out of my estate and head to the stable to get Boshi. I put on the saddle and reigns, I tuck the little bird inside my kimono and I hop onto Boshi's back. I tie the bundle of food on the side of the saddle and I place the kimono set in front of me. I look up at the ocean blue sky with cotton like clouds floating gently across the vast space, I close my eyes and take in a deep breath.

"With an early head start, I should be able to get to the cherry tree by late evening. I hope he'll be there..." I say with a sense of doubt.

Without another second to waste, I snap the reigns and I gallop off onto the dirt road that leads to a place of beauty and serenity. The road along the way is the same just like every other time that I travelled on it, and just like that, half of the day goes by. The sun is beginning to set by the time I got to the forest, I'm tired, but knowing that I'll be meeting Naraku makes the trip worthwhile. Why? Because, I feel that there's something about him that draws me to him not just because he's a demon, but because when I met him I feel that I already knew him from somewhere and I'm hoping that spending time with him can help me regain my memories. I take the bundle of food and the kimono with me, I hold the kimono close to me and I walk into the forest that is basked in the colors of the sunset. A few minutes passes by and I finally arrive at the clearing, the cherry tree still standing beautiful and radiant as ever. Although the tree is there, but Naraku isn't. I feel a gentle wave of disappointment flow through me but I hold on to that little sliver of hope that he'll be here later, and that tiny thought of worry that he was here but left. I walk across the tall grass and stop underneath the cherry tree who's branches splays out and covers me like an umbrella decorated with vibrant flowers of pink and magenta. I sit down and lean against the thick tree trunk and place the kimono on my lap, the sun is setting below the mountains now but the sky is still orange. I open up my collar and let the little bird peek out its head, I gently it's head feathers and sigh.

"I hope your savior will be here soon, for the meantime, let's take a break. If he doesn't come by by tomorrow then let's leave, maybe our fate was to just meet him once." I say to it.

Fate to only meet him once... perhaps, but why are all these feelings telling me that I've met him before, and every action that I've made till now is to meet him again and get to know him so that maybe one day this whole encounter can help me regain my memories and remember who that person I was with that night 12 years ago once and for all. I lean my head back against the tree trunk and I close my eyes, it's been a long day of traveling so I'm a bit tired. Not long, the gentle wind acts like my lullaby and pulls me into a shallow slumber. Time goes by but I have no idea how long, I'm slowly pulled out of my slumber by quiet rustles of the grass made by footsteps stopping in front of me, and then a faint presence near me. I open my eyes slowly, my mind laced with the faint residue of sleepiness still. I look in front of me and I see a pair of captivating eyes with the colors of ruby gently gazing back and reflecting off the remaining sunlight that still illuminates the world around me.