Remember Us
Chapter Five
"Blizzard of Truth, the Search for Self"
"Masaka... masaka..." Mercury muttered as she leapt yet another rooftop in Tokyo's Juuban district. Her judgement was off a little, and she stumbled as she landed on the tile. "I can't believe... iie, masaka."
Mercury's mind reeled with all the new information she had absorbed on this day. Even though she wasn't on the top of her game, Mercury knew there had to be some reason for the dreams. An attack, a prophecy, something. The week had been horrible for her. At first the dreams were a welcome occurrence, as they brought happiness into her normal activities. But then, the dreams became more intense, the visions too awful to bear. Mercury had seen the girl in her dreams do things that she herself never would. After a week of fitful dreaming and torturous thoughts, today she had found out that it was *her* in those memories.
"Iie, shimatta!" she cursed to herself. "It isn't me!"
Mercury took the long jump up from a one story house to the roof of a two story house. She judged wrong again and barely landed on the edge of the building. As she struggled to gather the strength to leapt away from her precarious perch, the loose tiles under her feet gave way and she fell over the edge of the roof. Only her Senshi abilities allowed her to grab the storm gutter, thus keeping herself from a rough landing. She hauled herself to the roof and lay there panting for a while.
*That was rather silly of you to do.*
"Urasai!" Mercury told herself.
In her mind's eye her torturer appeared, still clad in her blue gown, arms crossed over her chest. *Silly girl. Can't you just admit that you're wrong for once?*
"Urasai! Urasai!"
*You say that often, but I am still here. If you truly did not believe the Princess's words, I would not be here right now scolding you.*
Mercury groaned as she got up and started leaping roofs again, trying to outrun her evil twin.
*I'm not really evil. I'm you.*
"No! You are *not* me! I would never do the thing you did!"
*What? Fall in love with a man worthy of my feeling? Wouldn't you?*
"No! Never! It's not who I am!"
*Of course it's who you are! I am you.*
"Leave me alone! I told you... you are not me."
*Girl, listen to me for once. Even with your intelligence and wit you will not admit to the truth! I was you in a past life! My name is Clio, Princess of the Planet of Ice and I am the Senshi Mercury. You are Mizuno Ami and are Sailor Mercury. Get it through your thick skull, girl! Admit the truth!*
"You may have been me, but I am most definitely not you. I would never..."
*Fall in love?*
"I don't love him!!!"
*Are you sure? Will you so quickly throw away a man who loves you until eternity? Did you not see the hurt in his eyes as you pulled from his warm embrace?*
"Stop it!" Tears flowed to Ami's eyes, clouding her vision as she leapt the roofs. She had seen the obvious betrayal that had marred those beautiful green eyes... she shook her head in negation. They aren't beautiful! She judged the next jump critically.
*Did you not see the anguish that tortured him when he looked at you? Did you not feel the stirring in your heart as you gazed at him? The feeling of warmth tingling throughout your body? He loves you, and you love him.*
"NO! *You* love him, not I!!!" Ami screamed in the middle of her leap. Mercury landed on the roof hard and fell to her knees. To her dismay, she realized that she could not summon enough energy to stand up again. "Damn you... damn you... Why did you have to come?"
*Have to come? My dear child, I was always here!*
"And stop calling me child. I am not a child or a little girl."
Clio laughed gently and faced her reincarnation. *Ami, I have lived for one hundred and three years. When you reach half my age, I will no longer call you a child.*
Ami was about to snap out another negation, but cut it short. What could she say anyway? Clio was forcing Ami to take serious stock of her own life. Her mind rebelled though. She was raised on science and fact. There was a theory for everything. What could not be proven was hypothesized and experimented upon. She found proof in physical substance and numbers and figures, not a ghost from the past.
"But she's not a ghost," Ami sighed to herself. "She's... me."
*Finally. Have you admitted it to yourself now? That we are in fact, of one soul?*
Ami sat down in a more comfortable position, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She stared out over the lights of Tokyo. "One... soul. I'm not a very religious person, you know."
*Neither was I, when I was still amongst the living.* Clio moved next to Ami, sitting in the same position. They were identical copies of each other, except for the fact that Clio wore a long blue gown.
Ami frowned as she looked at Clio's dress. "How can you wear that? Aren't you cold?"
*My dear, I'm dead. I don't feel cold.*
"That's not what I meant. I your... our... MY... memories, I seem to wear rather... immodest things. I'm not like that now." Ami flushed and turned her gaze away from Clio who started to giggle.
*Call it the circumstances of the time, child. We were once the Crown Princess of our planet and the Senshi as well. It was protocol to be dressed befitting the position. Besides, Mercury had a rather harsh climate. We were the closest to the sun, after all. I could never quite figure out why I was saddled with the powers over ice and water.*
Ami laughed. "I guess it's not so bad, you being me. It's just... I acted so differently back then. I would never dream of..."
*Flirting shamelessly with anything that wore a pair of trousers? Teasing poor young men until they were tongue-tied? Wearing the latest fashion?* Clio smiled at Ami. *I'll admit that I was rather foolish back then. But inside I am the same. The love of sciences and facts, the thrill of new technology, the passionate translation of a new tome... Despite my flirting nature, I was very much what you would term a "nerd," my dear.*
"It's nice to know that I'm the same on the inside, if not the outside." Ami paused and then stood up. Clio followed suit. "So what now? We can't exactly exist together like this. Everyone will think I'm crazy when I start talking to myself."
Clio smiled. *Do you accept me, Ami? Do you truly accept that we are one person? That I am a part of your soul?*
"Yes, I do accept that."
Clio laughed and rushed forward. She hugged Ami with the familiarity of a sister. Ami was surprised at how real Clio felt for a spirit. Then Clio started to disappear, being drawn back into the soul and body where she belonged. Ami gasped at the sensation of her soul rejoining her. With her past life in place, all of the jumbled images and memories now made sense. No longer was she tortured by scenes that she could not make heads or tails of. Ami almost wept for joy as she truly remembered her past life, seeing the faces of old friends, her loving parents, and one other...
Zoisite.
The memories from the past and the memories of the now clashed together in her mind. Ami whimpered. How could she deal with him now? They had been lovers in one life, sworn enemies in the next. She felt her emotions gather tightly in her chest. Oh goddess! Zoisite! She could remember the first time that she had met him. She had been secretly following Princess Serenity on another visit to the Golden Kingdom. The Princess had somehow managed to lose her bodyguard in a crowd, and Ami had been forced to search the area for her. She had stumbled upon a public library of sorts and as she turned a corner she slammed right into a man carrying a towering pile of books. Leather-bound volumes had scattered all around and she hurriedly tried to help pick them up. Then she looked into his beautiful green eyes, framed by glasses slightly askew on his face. She had lost her heart to him then, when he reached down to pick up another volume and the glasses slipped off his nose and clattered on the floor. They were of like minds and shared the same passions. They often met together whenever Ami was on Earth following the wayward Princess of the Moon. When they were together it was as if no words needed to be spoken between them. He knew her and she knew him and together they were a harmony of thoughts and ideas. Then when he had confessed his love to her, he had stumbled so badly over the words that she started to laugh at his predicament. He had simply shut up at that point, grabbed her into his embrace, and soundly kissed her. Then their love was shattered on that day... all she saw was his handsome face marred by an uncharacteristic scowl... the flash of a blade... the sudden pain in her chest... the cool marble of the Palace steps...
Ami tried to stifle the sob, but could not stop the tears. This life was not fair... not fair at all--
"Clio?" a voice intruded.
Ami spun around and was confronted by a handsome face that both thrilled her and terrified her at the same time. She froze, unable to think of anything to do or say.
"You're a very hard person to chase after, Clio. I--" Zoisite broke off, staring intently at the blue-haired young woman in front of her. "Love? Crying? Why?" Zoisite reached out to touch her cheek and Ami instinctively gasped and backed away. Zoisite froze, not understanding, then it hit him like a bolt of lightning and gritted his teeth in anger. "It's me, isn't it? You don't know what to do about me."
Ami only stood silently, tears tracing down her cheeks. Zoisite turned the full force of his green-eyed stare on her. She saw the loathing and bitterness in his eyes, and deeper still the pain and anguish that their love was causing.
"I wish that I could say ‘I'm sorry' for what I've done, but I don't even remember what I did to make you shudder in my presence. It must have been horrible. To think, from the moment I met you, all I wanted to do was protect you. Yet it seems that I am the one who has wounded you the most." Zoisite turned away from her, his head hanging. "I will leave you now Cl--Senshi Mercury. I will understand that you will not forgive me for the crimes I have committed. But know this: I would never harm you."
Zoisite prepared himself for the leap to the next rooftop. Guilt and anger coursed through his veins, and deep sadness as well. He had waited so long to be with his love again and he had betrayed her. She was afraid of his touch! She had flinched away from his caress! He had snatches of memory, brief flashes from his life under the thrall of the red-haired bitch who caused him his misery. He could see flashes of a sword covered in blood and a familiar blue head falling dead on marble steps. He understood what he had done while under that damned spell. He had betrayed! He was no longer worthy of the love that the Mercurian Princess had professed to him so long ago. Zoisite felt the bitterness, like gall, gather in the back of his throat. He had been a weak-minded fool... and he had lost the woman he would cherish for eternity. As Zoisite tensed for the jump, something warm and soft crushed itself against his back. He looked down and could see familiar slim arms encircling him from behind. He stiffened in shock while his heart sang in hope and happiness.
"C--Clio?" he asked, questioning her decision. His mind railed at him. Why would he question her? Just accept her embrace, fool! You've waited a thousand years for this! Yet Zoisite went on doggedly. "After what I've done... are sure about this, Clio?"
He felt a tantalizingly warmth breath somewhere near his right shoulder. The voice was soft and laced with love. "My name is not Clio anymore. I'm Mizuno Ami now."
Zoisite shuddered as all of his tension and guilt left him. Ami walked around him, her arms still linked around him, unwilling to break the touch. She raised his head and stared into his eyes. "Did you think I would not forgive you, Zoisite? When I had pledged my love to you a thousand years past? When I am pledging my love to you now?"
Zoisite's hand came up tentatively and he wiped the remaining tears from her face. "Mizuno Ami..." he whispered almost reverently. "My beauty of the water... my love..." He almost couldn't believe that she was in his arms again.
"It's been so long," Ami said softly. She snuggled deeper into his embrace, feeling safe in his strong arms.
"It has... but it was worth the wait."
Zoisite looked down into the azure-haired woman in his arms. The woman he was bound to by destiny. Ami lifted her face to his and they gazed into each others' eyes, their souls speaking the words that no ordinary language could.
And they kissed gently under the pale light of the full moon.
Take me to the Angelic Archives!