The mind can forget... but the heart never!

Chapter 46

Seiya leaned against the cupboard and looked over at Bunny. Ikuko and Kenji had gone back home, and now they were alone. Bunny listened deeply within herself. Seiya radiated a certain calmness that she could really use right now. She reached out her hand to him.

 "Could you come over here, please?"Seiya took a step towards her, took her hand, and gave it a light kiss. "So, are we together now?" she asked hesitantly. 

Seiya nodded. "Yes, but we can take it slow." 

She felt a slight flutter in her stomach. Being close to him felt good – familiar, yet he was a stranger to her.Bunny moved slightly to the side. "Could you please tell me about us?" she asked, pulling him a bit closer. Seiya carefully sat down on the edge of the bed, and Bunny rested her head on his shoulder. 

"I've loved you since the first day, you know," he whispered, gently kissing the top of her head. "Darling, today was a lot for you to handle. Give yourself time, and you'll remember again."Bunny hoped Seiya was right.

A nurse knocked and entered with a friendly smile. "Hello, Mrs. Tsukino, I'm the night nurse. How are you feeling? Are you relatively pain-free? Just stay lying down, Seiya, I'll get to you in a moment." She checked some values on the monitor and jotted them down while Bunny answered. "I think I'm doing okay considering the circumstances. There's some pain, but it's bearable." "Alright, if anything comes up, just let us know. Oh, before I forget, this letter was dropped off for you downstairs."

She handed the envelope to Bunny and left the room. Seiya raised an eyebrow inquisitively. Bunny, however, recognized the handwriting, which was from Mamoru. She turned the envelope a few times, torn between curiosity and fear of what the letter might contain. "Don't you want to open it?" Seiya asked after a few minutes. Bunny hesitated. She didn't know how to tell Seiya that she would like to read the letter alone for now. Seiya moved slightly. It was as if he had read her mind. 

"Darling, how about I go get us something to eat? I can't stand this hospital food anymore." Grateful for his offer, she nodded. Once the door closed behind Seiya, she nervously opened the envelope.

My dearest Bunny,

I can't tell you enough how sorry I am about everything. You have to know that I never wanted it to come to this. As I tried to explain earlier, I have a past you know nothing about. Back then, after my parents died, I was placed in an orphanage. The first year there was tough for me. I was a lonely and abandoned child. I had no one, and I was all alone. Eventually, a girl came to the orphanage, and we became friends. Her name was Celeste. Celeste became like a little sister to me, even though we were the same age. Her parents had also died in an accident, and our shared fate brought us together. One day, her uncle suddenly showed up at the orphanage and wanted to take her with him, but Celeste refused to go unless I went with her. At that time, I thought that anywhere would be better than the orphanage. 

Since her uncle didn't object, I went along. What I didn't know back then was that her uncle was the head of the Black Moon Syndicate. The Black Moon controlled the major underground operations in Japan at the time: drugs, smuggling, human trafficking... Since he couldn't have children of his own, he chose Celeste as his successor, his brother's daughter. That way, at least the empire would stay within the family, and he had plans for me too. That's why he took me to Osaka. I was trained as her bodyguard. It was a terrible training that I had to endure over the following years, and I'd rather spare you the details. By the time they were done with me, I was a killer. Every one of my senses was razor-sharp, yet I never lost sight of my goal to become a doctor. We were just 16 when Celeste's uncle was murdered, and she took over the Black Moon Syndicate. I was her bodyguard, her adviser, her right hand, and her friend, but my desire to leave remained. I made a deal with Celeste for one final job, and then I would start a new life in Tokyo. Of course, it wasn't an easy job, but in the end, we succeeded.