Her Improving Past
12 May 2018KazukoHimura
(Date: Unknown, Past entry 2/2)#1515 had gotten fairly accustomed to being in the hospital-she got food when hungry, water when thirsty, relief when in pain. Though deemed fully recovered from the initial state she was found in, there were still some nutritional deficiencies needed to be addressed, as well as the clear trauma and lack of skills courtesy of where she came from. All three of these would take time, and the latter two were things that the hospital was not geared to handle.
#1515 only became aware of this when the screen by her bed lit up, and 5 other faces showed upon it, two of which she recognized. One of them was the nice lady who talked to her several times over her stay, having heard all of #1515’s confessions regarding her treatment. The other was the doctor who checked in on her and examined her from time to time. The other 3 were complete strangers.
“What’s going on…?” was the only thing #1515 could even say, she was admittedly a bit frightened and confused.
“Good afternoon.” The calm voice she recognized was the first to be heard. She introduced herself as Kay. #1515 couldn’t read the names on the screen below their pictures, so she was grateful for them being told to her-at least for the people she didn’t know, as she’s spoken to Kay several times. The doctor she knew introduced himself as Victor shortly afterwards. The others, an important looking man and woman, called themselves Torvald and Akhila, respectively. A third woman called herself Chiyo.
“I guess you can call me #1515…” was the only thing #1515 could say. She had no idea what was happening, so she just mimicked what the others were doing.
“#1515…” Chiyo mused. “Is it okay if we call you something else? Ichigo, perhaps.”
“Why?” #1515 asked. She was confused as to why she was being given a name.
“Everyone deserves a name, after all.” Kay added. “In addition, after what you have told me over our many discussions, there is a place that can help you greatly-and you’ll need a name there.”
“A new… master?” #1515 asked, her face falling. She feared her time of freedom had come to an end.
“No, no, of course not!” Akhila exclaimed. “There is much, much more to life than slavery, and where you are going to go will show you that. Would you like to see some of the rooms?”
#1515 stared at the screen in confusion still. What were these people talking about? Why couldn’t they just tell her who she was working for now and get it over with? She hesitantly nodded. The squares containing the video feeds of the five people moved, making way for a larger screen, showing various photos of a large room with an empty bed-that looked quite soft, with soft colors painted on the walls. A large window took up one of the walls near the bed, showing a lovely view of the night sky. #1515’s eyes widened in awe, and her thin, bony fingers brushed up against the holo-screen when she got a good view of said night sky, but they passed right through. Other rooms were shown as well, fairly similar in contents, the main difference being where the furniture is placed, or the color of the walls.
“Am I allowed to choose?” #1515 asked timidly.
“Of course.” Chiyo answered, smiling warmly. “Ichigo, if you are alright with me calling you that, you have as much of a right to choose what you want as everyone else that is present here. All of us want to help you, and in order for us to do so, we think you should be moved to an environment that would help you heal.”
After some hesitation, #1515...no...Ichigo finally spoke.
“It’s… nice to be given a name.” She replied. “But I have two questions.”
“Go ahead, Ichigo.” Torvald stated.
“I was told that I’m already in an environment that helps me heal. Why do I have to move?” Having those two seemingly conflicting statements only confused Ichigo more.
“Where you are now was to help heal your body. Now it is time to heal your mind.” Victor explained. “We have done all we could to help you at this hospital.”
“Oh.” Ichigo stated. “But who will I be working for?”
“Nobody.” Chiyo reassured her softly. “Your time as a slave is over, Ichigo. Now it’s time for you to rest, heal, and learn.”
A hesitant smile formed on Ichigo’s face, almost as if her expressions were forced, or if she was frightened of showing emotions. But one thing was clear for her, she was relieved. Even with the nightmares still haunting her, things were getting better.
---
The Adder that Ichigo was riding on slowly descended onto the facility’s flight pad, and once fully secured, she was led out by the paramedics. A couple staff members then led Ichigo into the rehabilitation center. Immediately she began glancing around at the polished interior, the eternally setting sunlight reflecting onto the pale colored floor tile, bathing everything in an orange hue. It almost made Ichigo want to twirl around with her arms extended, despite the fact she was still feeling fatigued due to malnutrition. But not knowing if that was alright to do kept her frozen in place, partially hidden behind the two psychiatric staff. Another individual led the three into a small side room, containing a long table and some chairs, a datapad resting at the head of the table. The third individual took the datapad as she sat down, the others-and then Ichigo, when gently prompted-followed suit.
Ichigo only really picked up that her full name was “Ichigo Shiyoni”, as discussed with Chiyo prior to her discharge from the hospital, as she kept staring out the nearby window during the conversation between the staff members. She couldn’t help but watch in awe at small things such as a breeze lightly blowing through the grass, how the leaves on the trees were the same vibrant green, or even other ships landing and taking off in the distance. Ichigo was snapped out of her trance by a single question:
“Well, Ichigo, this is going to be your new home. Would you like us to show you around?”
Ichigo was then led down a small hallway by the two staff members, and out a door, which revealed what looked like a small neighborhood of sorts, several buildings that looked like long houses scattered about, peppered with trees, bushes, and even a few other buildings. A small pond lay nestled between two lopsided hills, reflecting the eternally orange sky. Both staff members showed Ichigo that the many doors of the ‘long houses’ led to different rooms, much like the ones she was shown over the screen. Her heart was initially set on the one she first saw while back in the hospital, but upon seeing one where the walls were practically bathed in sunlight, and was arranged to allow for a large open floor, Ichigo immediately caved, wanting that particular room-which was granted to her in a heartbeat. She was told that the room would be prepared just for her, which Ichigo questioned.
“Why are you doing all of this for me…?” she asked, her voice still as small and quiet as ever. “There’s no locking doors, there’s so much room…”
“Room for you to grow.” One of the staff members that was escorting her explained. “And locking you in a room accomplishes nothing.”
Ichigo opted to accept that answer despite having a reasonable-to-her counterpoint.
She was soon led around the outdoor grounds, shown various places for different sorts of outdoor activities, including the pond. Ichigo shuddered upon seeing her reflection in it, as she had not seen how horrifically gaunt and ragged-looking she really was up until now, despite some surfaces in the slaver ship being reflective. She was reassured with a pat on her shoulder before being led in and out of various buildings, showing different indoor activities, as well as various necessities. A delicious smell permeated the air of the hallways in the large center building upon entry, and Ichigo realized just how hungry she was. However, she didn’t wish to admit it, as she’s had it drilled into her that she only got so many rations a day. When she and the others passed a basket filled with assorted snacks, Ichigo nabbed an item from it, trying her hardest to hide it from any prying eyes. She felt horrible that she had to resort to stealing food, but Ichigo was desperate at this point.
Before Ichigo could even enjoy her newly plundered food, her stomach grumbled audibly, reminding her-and anyone nearby-that she hadn’t eaten since she was on the ship en route to the facility. This prompted the staff with her, and a couple nearby, to notice her. Ichigo mentally cursed-something a girl her age shouldn’t do, but being on a slaver ship exposes one to some rather adult language-as now not only is it clear she stole food, but her own body embarrassed her at that. She hesitantly held out the packaged snack with a sheepish look on her face, her cheeks tinted red.
“Ichigo, it’s okay.” One of the staff reassured her. “All of those snacks are for you. If I had known you were hungry, we’d have taken you to the cafeteria, and gotten you something to eat.”
“I-I didn’t want to bother-” Ichigo stammered, only to be cut off.
“No, it’s not a bother at all. Come, let’s get you a good meal.”
Ichigo certainly followed, munching on her snack the entire way. Though once in the cafeteria, there were so many different options for food that she was nigh-unable to choose, and the fact she was still downright ravenous despite having something small earlier wasn’t helping matters. Eventually she settled on a warm bowl of soup, as that was something familiar to her-albeit with more than just broth this time.
Once she was done eating, the remainder of the tour continued, and Ichigo was led back to what would now be her room-and was told a surprise was waiting for her inside. She eagerly opened the door, to find that sitting on the bed was a cube-shaped object, with a bow neatly tied around it. Ichigo gently picked it up, looking over it with a curious gaze.
“That is a Jaradharre Puzzle Box.” A staff member explained. “It will make any game you desire to play, and will customize itself over time, making it truly yours-and nobody can claim otherwise.”
If Ichigo wasn’t repressing most of her emotions, she would have cried tears of joy right there, as having an object of any kind to call ‘hers’ meant she was a person now, and not property.
Eventually, the staff members had left, and when Ichigo was sure she was alone, she extended her arms above her head and twirled around in the large empty space...only to stumble and fall after about 10 seconds courtesy of still feeling fairly weak.
---
Ichigo had been living at this particular facility for a year now, and was making quite a few strides. She now knew how to read and write, and had caught up in other academic matters, but socially she was still struggling. Thankfully she was able to be easily taken out into the general public after her first month, as research revealed that her slavers thought she was deceased, and never bothered to look for her-she was not told who was responsible for her enslavement, to prevent further trauma. Though despite most of these strides, she still had the parasite and its symptoms to contend with, including slow growth. The only reason she was able to still match other children in height was the fact that while enslaved-which was essentially the first eight years of her life-she was raised in zero gravity. As a result, she was not just unhealthily skinny, but lanky.
Ichigo was in a routine therapy appointment with Chiyo, her therapist, when she was asked a peculiar question.
“Ichigo, are you ready for a permanent name?”
“I thought Ichigo was my permanent name.” Ichigo replied, a perplexed look on her face.
“While we did name you when you came here, it was only temporary-we fully intend for you to choose your own name-as you are your own person.”
Ichigo thought about it for a moment before replying.
“Where did you come up with my current name?”
“An old language from before the third World War on Earth.” Chiyo began to explain. “The culture that spoke this language seemed to enjoy wordplay, to the point that numbers could be turned into names, and names into numbers. You came to us from a numbered star system, only designated by a number. I was able to turn those numbers into a name.”
Ichigo listened, her eyes wide in awe. When it was just her and Chiyo, she was able to fully show her emotions-and was encouraged to do so regardless of who she was with or where, though that was extremely difficult for Ichigo to do.
“I would like to do the same with my first name.” Ichigo stated, a slightly awkward smile on her face.
“Hmm…” Chiyo trailed off. “Kazuko is another name that can come out of the number 15. It also has many other meanings, such as “One child” or “Harmony Child””
Ichigo...no...Kazuko nodded eagerly, before speaking up once more.
“For my last name...I’m not sure. It’s cool that my temporary one shows where I came from, but..”
“You don’t wish to risk it leading to you being found again, right?” Chiyo calmly asked. “Even if that risk is extremely low, I’d rather you have that extra peace of mind.”
“Yeah...that. I did come from a red ship though. I was told that the wreckage was of a red painted ship-and some of the areas inside were red, too.”
Upon hearing that, Chiyo browsed through a file on her datapad. “The closest I could find is Himura-meaning “Scarlet Village””
Kazuko spoke her new name-Kazuko Himura-aloud a couple of times, before tearing up.
“I...I love it…” she choked out.
Kazuko held her head up high when that appointment was finished, as having a permanent name meant personhood to her, too.
---
When Kazuko was much older, the facility she had been staying at for her entire free life was bought by a different company. With that came many changes for her, starting with the fact that that was the highest amount of new faces she’s seen in a short period of time. Second off, the games she loved so much that allowed her to immerse herself into large worlds only grew more numerous, second only to her beloved puzzle box. Third, and most importantly, it was time for her to become more independent. While she still struggled socially to a degree, and still had some difficulties medical-wise, she was able to possibly move into the next level of care-which was her own little apartment, in a way. Several people came by with loads of forms to sign and fill out to get the process started-which could take some time. In addition, it was time for her to learn additional life skills, so she started applying for a special job program that gave people like her work experience and valuable skills. More paperwork, but more progress, having come so far from the frightened child escaping a red ship, with nothing to her number for a name.