The Lost years

[Ryu Chao]

Ryu chao had been curious as to why Amy Chao was so happy. Upon questioning the demon kitty she smiled widely.

"Melly's coming to visit Ryu!" she chirped "if there's anyone you're bound to remember it's her for sure"

Melly? The name didn't ring a bell. Then again the dragon wasn't sure if it was suppose to. He wasn't even sure why the female followed him around so much but he couldn't deny that he did enjoy her cheerful company. He thought back to a few months ago when he first met her.

He had been playing his flute near the edge of the forest sitting against a tree. His pacifistic nature caused him to opt out of the monthly inter tribe sparring matches. Due to his physical and mental connection with Raiou the yami dragon was aware of someone following him due to his aura sensing abilities.

While it felt familiar he couldn't remember the owner. When he looked for the source he found no one. He began to take notice that this particular aura only stalked him during the planned spars or when he was alone.

Around the third time he called out "I don't know who you are...but...i-if you...want to...fight....then I want nothing of the sort!" he yelled out into the forest.

Silence was all that was given as a response. Eventually his "stalker" appeared before him.

He was playing his flute as usual. The soft melody washed over the forest. He stopped suddenly and sighed "why have you been following me around for so long?" he asked the presence who was now sitting in the branch above him.

"...Don't you remember me Ryuuji?" a female voice asked.

"Ryuuji? No, my name is Ryu chao" he said looking confused "Who are..." he moved his gaze up "...you?" he said, finally seeing Amy chao.

"I'm Amy chao! Don't you remember me? Well...I guess it's understandable...it's been years" she said with a smile.

"I think you've gotten me confused with someone else" he said plainly.

"No way, I know you're Ryuuji" she said to him "I recognize the song you're playing on your flute...Ryuuji always played that song" she said, her ears drooping "The flute sounds familiar as well"

Ryu stared at her incredulously "But...this is my song" he told her "and this flute was-"

"A gift from your dad" she finished his sentence stunning him.

"H-How...how did you know that?" he asked.

"We're childhood friends!" she declared jumping off the branch and landing in front of him on all fours.

"We are?" Ryu asked still sounding confused.

"We are" she said with a smile.

Ryu shook his head "Look, I'm sorry but...I...I don't remember you...I"

Raiou suddenly tackled the female and nuzzled her face affectionately. Ryu had never seen his familiar react so fondly with anyone aside from him.

"OH! I remember you too~" Amy chao said happily hugging the little demon close "Raiou!" she cheered holding him at arms length while she laid on the ground.

Ryu was absolutely stunned at this revelation. If Raiou acted so happy with her...then everything she had told him was true. He groaned feeling a headache come on.

Almost like a movie was playing in his mind he saw himself looking on from first person point of view. He approached a crying Chao and patted the chao on the head "Hey, hey, it's alright, don't worry"

"B-B-But...Ryuuji....w-w-why...w-w-were....you and...fighting?" the chao hiccuped.

"We weren't wrestling ya nut, we were playing around" he said cheerfully.

"No! Friends don't play that waaaayyyyyaaaaaaaahhhh!!!" she had a large torrent of tears spray out of her eyes causing him to sigh.

"Ryuuji?"

Ryu blinked in confusion and yelped noticing how close she was. She held Raiou in her arms and the demon seemed content.

"Ah...um...s-s-sorry...I...headache" he said placing a hand on his head. She spent the rest of the day with him and Raiou. Like him she didn't like fighting and ditched the spars every month. She was cheery, energetic and happy.

She was a nice girl and rather charming but seemed clingy and oblivious as well. She still referred to him as Ryuuji and would see him almost every day after that. He couldn't tell if that was an act for a much more devious and backstabbing nature or if she was honestly displaying her true character.

He did however feel at ease around her for some odd reason. Normally he'd be shy around people...especially females but he didn't get nervous around Amy chao at all. Almost as if he had been use to her presence or personality from before.

At one point, when he was alone he tried to think back to his childhood but would get nothing out of the ordinary. Suddenly he remembered a time when he woke up in the hospital several years ago with no recognition of who he was or where he was.

He had decided, years later, to give up on finding out who he had been before and just move on with his life. Then Amy Chao had revealed herself to him and that they were friends and had been for years. Needless to say his curiosity for the knowledge of his past returned to him once more.

Attempting to have more time to think back to the past he noticed that there was a gap of time that didn't seem to exist. He couldn't remember his birth or any bit of his childhood, yet remembered the basic teachings of Chao kindergarten. He began to question Amy chao about how he had been like when they were children to see if anything she said jump started his memory. When asked why he wanted to know so much he revealed to the female that he possibly had a bad case of amnesia.

From the information she gave there were some things that matched but others that seemed way off from his personality. She did mention several times that she had been quite the cry baby when younger but that he always tried to find a way to cheer her up.  

He also grew quite curious when the female began to mention two particular names over and over...Angel and Melly.

Deciding that talking about them would resolve nothing Amy chao decided to introduce (or in her case reintroduce) Ryu to Angel first as Melly was rather hard to reach. Curious, he wondered why they couldn't just take a teleporter to her planet...he received his shocking answer...Melly chao wasn't on any of the planets of the Chao world...she was on the sun.

When he first met Angel she was overly happy and all smiles confirming to Ryu that the two females were indeed related. Like Amy chao she seemed to recognize him and even embraced him.

The dragon panicked in her embrace and flailed D@ "er...um...n-nice...t-to....me-meet yo-you...t-t-too..."

Much like Amy chao, Angel also brought up some times in their past that matched his personality but other times that were nothing like him at all. He once again felt the sensation of deja vu with Angel especially with her cooking. It tasted familiar to him even though the red head swore she started cooking years after she left chao kindergarten. Which meant after they parted ways when younger.

He racked his brains trying to figure out why this was so when yet another aura started to approach. The sun had begun to rise and he saw her silhouette descending towards them. With her mismatched wings opened on either side of her. His eyes widened when Melly chao landed in front of him and called out to him as Ryuuji.

At this point he was almost in tears. Three females who he didn't recognize knew who he was. Why couldn't he remember them?Who were these girls? How did they know him? How did he meet them? Why didn't he know them? Was this all a sick joke or did they really know him?

"I'm sorry...I...I don't...know who any of you are...yet...I feel....as if..." he placed a hand on his head suddenly feeling a headache coming on.

"Ryuuji?" Melly asked concerned. Without warning her tail crystal placed itself on his head.

"Huh?" upon feeling the crystal touch his forehead his pupils dilated...and he let out a scream of absolute agony.

"RYUUJI!" three voices yelled out but his world went black.

He stood in a void of absolute darkness when suddenly several screens appeared all around him at once. A kaleidoscope of memories long forgotten! His birth, the years in chao kindergarten, the young chao he met as a hatchling and the happiness they all shared, saving Raiou's life...he did know them! He had met them! The agonizing pain started to get worse as the memory stream sped up.

"NO! NO! STOP IT! STOP IT! PLEASE! IT'S TOO MUCH MY HEAD'S GOING TO EXPLODE" he screamed out in agony.

He heard two cheerful voices calling out to him. One male one female voice laughing and calling out to him.

"Nii-san~!"

As the memories began to make themselves more apparent something began to happen. In his mind he felt the memories being crammed back into his head one after another. To Melly, Amy Chao and Angel he was holding his head in pain while her crystal was inches above his head, glowing brightly. Melly had no control over her tail. She tried to move it but it wouldn't budge from where it was. Angel tried using her telekinesis to move it away and even tried using magic but was stopped by Amy chao for fear of hitting Ryuuji with a spell.

His body began to change suddenly. His light scaly skin became so dark it could be considered black. His oval amber eyes became slitted crimson depths of fury and anger.

"STOP IT!" he roared out angrily a dark purple aura flaring around him which caused Angel and Amy to hide behind Melly who stood her ground "I don't......AAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH" he screamed as the dark purple around him flared up to a bloody red miasm. His dark skin became bloody red, his eyes became black with red centers and his teeth became saw like fangs with his claws becoming almost knife like.

He gave another loud roar as the memories persisted in showing themselves. Suddenly he returned to normal. His eyes were rolled back in his head giving him a zombified appearance. The amber color returned to his eyes and he stumbled past Melly chao.

"Ugh...." Ryu leaned against a nearby tree...and promptly emptied his stomach of its contents.

"Ryuuji?" Amy chao asked worried. Angel made her way to the dragon first and asked if he was fine.

"I'm...fine...Angele" he gasped out causing Angel's eyes to widen. He had called her by her full name.

"I...remember everything..." he said, his hands still on his head as he sorted out his memories "I...remember..." he looked at Amy chao "you were the first chao I saw" he told Amy chao.

"I met Angel..." he looked at the white skinned red head and then turned to Melly "and then Melly not too far after" the dragon said, having a flashback to when he was younger "...we...were friends"

"No Ryuuji...not were...still are" Amy chao said with a smile, hugging him around his waist.

The dragon returned her embrace and laughed "right, right, still are...still are..." he agreed a few tears of joy running down his cheeks.

The loneliness he had been feeling up until he met Amy chao vanished. It was replaced with a happiness he never thought existed.

"Ryuuji!" Angel said hugging both the male and her sister causing them all to laugh.

Melly made her way over to Ryu and the dragon smiled softly at her "thank you" he said. He reached a hand out and Melly grabbed it only for Ryu to pull her into the group hug.

They spent the rest of that day together enjoying each others company.

-End-