2: REBIRTH... I THINK?

Hinata opened her eyes and was surprised to find herself in a strange room. The insides were white and the decor was odd, bars were used to block the windows, like it was some kind of prison. They had weird balls that had light in them but she didn't think they were fireflies because it was broad daylight. She tried to sit up but her head was aching terribly.

She managed to sit up and scanned her surrounding. "Ugh, what happened?" She noticed two other beds but they were vacant.

Deciding she had had enough of the abnormality, she decided to head out. She only made it to the entrance when a tall woman intercepted her. "Where are you going?"

"Where is this place?"

"You're in a hospital."

"A what?, how did I get here? I need to get out of here." She tried to bypass the woman but she was stronger than she looked. "Would you stop pushing me, do you have any idea who I am?"

"Relax, you're going to be fine." She brought out a weird looking weapon. "Ren, a little help here!." A tall man hurried towards them and his charming looks had Hinata distracted momentarily.

"Ow!"she felt a sharp pain in her arm and before she could stop herself her body had reacted. She landed a slap across the woman's face. "What did you do to me? Why do I feel so...." She fell but the man caught her before she hit the ground.

"You're okay, its just going to help you relax. Your....." Hinata couldn't hear the rest of his sentence and her eyes were so heavy, it was difficult to keep them open. She lost the strength to fight the venom that would have no doubt spread through her system and fell unconscious.

<~~~~~~~~~~~ππ~~~~~~~~~~>

"Why do you have to be so difficult all the time?, can't you do what I want for once in your life?!"

"Why do I have to satisfy you?, why can't you bend to please your daughter?!"

"You know, I'm starting to grow tired of your inability to change Hinata."

"Oh I'm unable to change, then what about you, your Highness, what would you say about yourself?"

"Hinata--"

"You always want to make everything about you, and I'm sick and tired of it."

"Hinata--"

"I will never allow you to live my life for me. You might be the king of this kingdom but you are NOT the king of my life!!."

"ENOUGH!!. You know it's times like this that makes me wish you were never born, or that we had just left you to die when you were sick as a child."

Hinata was so angry that she felt like her blood was boiling. The air in the room had changed and the clear afternoon suddenly for dark and foggy. She waved her hand and her father was thrown across the room, hitting the ground with a powerful thud.

She left no room for recovery when she lifted her hand, suspending him up in mid air. Tears were falling uncontrollably down her cheeks and she was shaking with rage. "You were never a good father to me. All I wanted was for you to love me, as much as you loved Kiyomi but...I guess it was just wishful thinking."

She released him and he fell to the ground. "Know this, Emperor, you can never force me to marry someone I don't love. And just so you know, I would have very much loved it if you had died instead of mom."

<~~~~~~~~~~~ππ~~~~~~~~~~>

She opened her eyes but didn't try to get up. She raised her hand to the side of her face and felt a tear drop. "Are you alright?" She turned to look at the man who was seated by her side.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Ren. What's your name?"

"How did I get here?"

"I found you unconscious in an alley and I had no idea what happened to you so I brought you to the hospital."

"Hos-pee-tu?"

"Hospital. A place where people are taken care of."

"Oh, why are you dressed like that?"

He looked down at his outfit but didn't seem to understand her question. "Is it the coat?, it's a bit chilly outside and I didn't want to catch a cold." He paused for a little while before adding. "What were you doing in that alley?, did you have a fight with someone?"

"No...I don't know. I'm not sure how I got here." She looked around to confirm if she was still in the strange land. "Where is...here?"

"The...hospital..?"

"No. This land."

"Yokohama?" He didn't understand what she was trying to ask and he wasn't sure if she understood what she was asking. "Where are you from?"

"I'm princess Hinata, of the Ming dynasty."

Ren wasn't sure if she was joking or not because she wasn't smiling. Instead, her face held a mixed emotion of pride and sadness. "Riiight. So you're a princess."

"Yes, are you royalty?"

"No. I'm uh...just a regular store owner."

"Store owner, so who's the king of your land?"

"We don't have kings here."

"So who deals with the affairs of the land?"

"You know, you're ridiculous." He burst out laughing and Hinata frowned. "You almost had me for a second there." He continued laughing and she just stared blankly at him.

"What's so funny?" She was starting to feel agitated.

"You're asking me what's funny?, everything is. You being a princess, coming from a land that doesn't exist. You must have a wild imagination to be able to think up something like that so quickly." He erupted in another round of laughter and Hinata had grown irritated.

"That's enough."

"Are you mad?"

"I most definitely am not. Why would you say something like that?" She looked offended by his statement and it only confused Ren.

"I meant are you angry?"

"Well I am. I tell you where I'm from and you think it's appropriate to laugh at it?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to me offend you. I just don't quite understand." She told him about her life in her kingdom, well at least the part she remembered but when he asked how she got here, she said she didn't remember.

"So you don't have anywhere to go?"

"I'm afraid not."

"How about you stay with me then?, at least till you remember everything that happened and maybe figure out a way to go back."

"Thank you."