Artificial Memory (DISCONT'D BUT WILL UPLOAD UNEDITED CHAPTERS)

Chapter 4: Distance Beats the Shit Out Of Me

To my shock, he hugged me, sobbing into my shoulder. He ran his fingers through my hair with his right hand and continued crying. I honestly had no idea what the hell to do in this sort of situation.

It's not every day you randomly get hugged by a complete stranger. Well, even if that did happen, it'd be really creepy.

Instead of questioning the situation, I asked,

"What is it?"

"I missed you...so much. Ever since you were shot...I thought you were dead."

He whispered.

I stiffened. He knew me from before I became an amnesiac? Was he important to me somehow?

"You...know me?"

"Of course I'd know my little brother."

The guy murmured.

As he did so, a brief image flickered across my mind. A younger version of me with completely black hair, walking to school with a slightly older boy. The slightly wavy hair was a dead giveaway, despite my earlier doubts. Still, it was both weird and comforting to know that this guy was my brother.

Or a doppelgänger, but I didn't really think he was one.

I stood perfectly still as I processed this and pieces of my memory found their way back. Tiny shards of the two of us playing in a playground, running through tall grass happily, riding a wagon down a steep hill and crashing before getting up and laughing.

"You're Hiro."

I murmured.

For some reason, I'd begun crying.

Not sobbing, since I didn't really feel much other than a vague tug in my chest, but my face had gotten super wet.

I didn't know why, but something deep inside my heart broke when my eyes slowly settled on Triumph's steel arm. A dark, foreboding feeling followed, leading me to think that I was somehow the cause of that.

After a moment, Triumph wiped his face and looked at me with a smile. Then, he placed a hand on my cheek and ran his thumb horizontally across it as if wiping it off.

"You're crying?"

I blinked in surprise at his sudden touch, then wiped my face with a laugh.

"I guess I am. I suppose I'm crying because I feel really happy to meet you. Again. I hope I can fully remember you someday."

"Get a room."

Distance called over at us loudly, obviously bored or disgusted by the whole situation.

Yet when I stared at him, he was smirking. He was definitely happy, I could tell that much. I opened my mouth to say something to him, but Triumph sighed,

"I should tell you about the powers you don't remember having before they become a problem."

I glanced at him again, curiosity written in my face.

"What powers? And how can they cause a problem?"

"You know you're Aberrant, right?"

"Of course."

I replied.

Triumph nodded slowly, running a hand through his hair.

"Well, you don't always look the way you do now. This is only half of you. The other half...isn't human."

I screwed up my mouth. Duh, I knew I wasn't human. This was only a minor inconvenience. Much like knowing that your healer on Skyrim was just a dumbass you had to babysit and  could also be used as cannon fodder.