Mi-chan looked at her in shock. But she wasn't kidding. She knew that. "Neko-chan! It's me, Michiru! Mi-chan?" Neko wasn't looking enlightened. "Your twin sister!" Mi-chan finished desperately.
Neko stared at her blankly.
"D- Do you know who you are?"
"Neko?" Neko guessed. "Michiru's twin sister?" She'd always been a quick study, but she wasn't fooling Mi-chan, who could practically hear her concentrating on trying to figure it out moments ago.
"Mom!" Mi-chan yelled.
Ami ran up the stairs. "Is Neko okay? Oh, good, you're awake. How are you feeling, dear?"
"She's our mom?" Neko confirmed quietly. Mi-chan nodded. Before she could say anything, Neko answered. "Okaa-san, I feel fine - and am suddenly wondering what was wrong with me - but it seems I have a slight case of amnesia."
"Girls, that's not funny," Ami scolded them, probably figuring the chances of both of them getting amnesia in the same year were slim.
"Who's laughing?" Mi-chan replied gravely.
Ami watched as Neko continued surveying the room. "Neko?" Mi-chan elbowed her sister when Neko didn't respond right away.
"Sorry, nani?"
"Oh, dear," Ami said.
"Did Amethyst's bug cause this?" Mi-chan asked worried.
"I don't think so." Ami glanced at the empty medicine bowl on their nightstand. "I suspect the potion did this. Tenshi-chan did warn there was a possibility of side effects."
"Side effects? It erased her memory!"
"Well, I could bring her into the hospital," she suggested as she scanned Neko, "but I'm afraid there's nothing physically wrong with her." They both looked at Neko who had been following their conversation with wide eyes, back and forth like she was watching a ping-pong tournament. She looked a little uncomfortable now, with their eyes on her though. "I'd say talk to the priestess Tenshi-chan went to and see what she can do," Ami suggested. "Meanwhile, your father and I will go see Neo-Queen Serenity to see if she has the power to correct this."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Mi-chan finished calling Tenshi, who promised she'd speak to the priestess before she stopped by. Then Mi-chan went back to her room to find Neko changed out of yesterday's clothes. She looked perfectly fine for going out, a big change from yesterday.
"Tenshi-kun is going to see what happened and come over," Mi-chan informed her.
Neko nodded, noncommittally. She didn't know Tenshi, but she didn't know a lot of things. At the moment, she was studying her reflection in the mirror.
"I look just like you," she said in awe.
Mi-chan joined her in front of the mirror. "Yeah, we're twins. I said that."
"We're identical twins," Neko clarified. "Should I put my hair up like yours, Michiru-chan?"
"No, that'd be confusing," Mi-chan laughed. "This way people can usually tell us apart."
"Oh, okay." Neko was like an obedient child. An interested obedient child. She seemed to be soaking up anything Mi-chan told her.
At mentioning that they were twins, Mi-chan was reminded of their psychic link and a possible way to beat this. "Ne, Neko-chan, can I see your left hand?"
Neko held it out to her dutifully. Mi-chan studied it carefully. A long diagonal scar ran across it. "I had amnesia once, but you accidentally fixed it by matching this scar to mine on my wrist." She held up her left hand. "Could you please grab my wrist?"
Neko did as she asked, but nothing happened. No glowing, no hair flying, no symbols appearing. Nothing.
"Well, it was worth a shot," Mi-chan said dejectedly.
Neko seemed fascinated by the idea that that might have healed her. She began to study her scar. "How'd I get this? Why would it give me back my memories?"
"Later. Right now, I think I should tell you stuff you should know about the connection between you and me."
Neko looked away from her hand, back to Mi-chan. "Like what?"
"Uh�," Mi-chan stalled as she tried to think of how to tell her about their psychic link. Finally, she just decided to break it to her in plain terms she could understand. *Like this!* she thought, hoping she didn't scare her.
Neko didn't even blink. "Sugoi! Did you do that? Can I?"
Mi-chan briefly wondered when in their lives she and Neko had first used their psychic link for communicating. Had it seemed as unsurprising to them then as it had seemed to Neko five seconds ago? Had they been as thrilled to discover it? Or did they just develop it as they developed language skills and never even knew it was anything out of the ordinary?
"Um, just concentrate on sending me some sentence or mental image or something."
*I don't know what I'm doing* Neko thought to her with great difficulty. It was a little fuzzy and very quiet, but Mi-chan picked it up.
"You'll get better. Maybe you just don't know me well enough yet." Wow, that seemed really weird to say to her. But it seemed to be true. With the exception of intense emotions Neko felt during the occasional dream, the connection Mi-chan felt to her right now was much like that when her twin was asleep or unconscious. She knew she was there, but it was somewhat muted.
"Why don't we get you some breakfast?" She took her sister's hand and led her down to the kitchen.
"Actually, I am kind of hungry," Neko admitted.
Well, of course she was. She hadn't eaten in over a day.
Neko watched her twin's every move as she scurried about the kitchen, putting together a couple bowls of cereal. She slid one across the counter to Neko, who waited until Mi-chan started eating to decide it was okay to eat standing there at the counter.
"Where did our parents go?"
"To see Neo-Queen Serenity."
"What's that?"
"She's the queen of our solar system. Wow, don't you remember anything at all?"
Neko shook her head.
"You're not scared?" Mi-chan wanted to know.
"Of what?"
"Of not knowing anything?!"
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