�It hurts so much. My heart,� Neko wept. �It aches with such love for you, but I don�t know why. I can�t remember it, Tenshi! I tried! I really did! But I can�t remember!� She began to sob hysterically.
Tenshi took Neko up in her arms. �Shh, it�s okay, Koneko,� she comforted her. �Everything will be fine.�
�No, it won�t!� Neko beat wildly at Tenshi to get out of her arms, but Tenshi didn�t let her go. �I killed your Koneko! I didn�t want to remember, and I messed up the ritual, and the stones went away, and she�ll never be back.�
�Koneko.� Tenshi�s heart was breaking at Neko�s frantic apology.
Neko finally gave up resisting and surrendered to Tenshi�s embrace. �You love Mizuno Neko so much. And now you�ll never get her back. And I�m so, so sorry, Tenshi-kun!�
�Stop saying that!�
�Nani?� Neko sniffed as Tenshi pushed her back and looked into her eyes.
�Stop saying �her� and �she.� You do know she�s you, right? You�re the same person. You are Mizuno Neko.�
�Iie!� Neko shook her head violently. �I�m not. I�m nobody. She was loved by everyone, and had powers, and could pole vault, and was going to rule a planet, and made friends with her enemies, and fell in love with you, and shared a bond with Mi-chan.�
�It doesn�t matter. You are her, in every way� well, maybe a little bit of Mi-chan has rubbed off on you. But your essence remains the same. I could barely keep from taking you in my arms and kissing you about a hundred times since you lost your memory, and trust me it wasn�t just because you look like yourself. Because if I only wanted that, there�s always Mi-chan.�
Neko actually started to smile.
�You can�t help but be Mizuno Neko. Maybe you can�t remember loving me, and that�s okay because I believe in our love and know that it still resides within you. But even though you can�t remember things like that, you still have the same heart. And you still have the same soul. And that�s what matters more than anything else. I will always love you, as will Mi-chan, even if we have to get used to you having forgotten why. So please don�t cry for our sake. Because we have what�s important and that�s you.�
Neko buried her head in Tenshi�s shoulder, muffling her sobs a little. �I want to remember so much. I want to remember why I love you, and why you love me, and every memory we ever made together. Please�.�
�We�ll make new ones. That�s the good thing about love. There are always more beautiful memories to be made.� Neko was still mumbling miserably about how she wanted to remember and how wretched she felt and how Tenshi must hate her. Tenshi tried to calm her. �It�ll be okay, Koneko.�
�No. How can you forgive me?!� Neko cried, pushing back from Tenshi. �It�s my fault!� she yelled as she stood up. �I could have gotten my memories back, but I didn�t! Please, don�t forgive me, Tenshi-kun! Please, don�t�!�
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Neko�s heart couldn�t take it anymore. She ran away from Tenshi, unwilling to face her with so many still unanswered and unanswerable questions.
Something inside her had been crying out for Tenshi�s soul to join hers. She could feel it, but she didn�t understand it. How could she want Tenshi so badly when she still knew so little about her? How could she answer her heart�s cry when she didn�t even understand what it wanted from her?
It was dark now, and with her unfocused vision, she felt the seawater under her feet before she actually processed that she was running towards the ocean. She ran until the water was over her ankles before she gave up and collapsed onto her hands and knees. She couldn�t escape Tenshi this way, couldn�t escape her own emotions. And she knew it.
�I want to understand,� she whispered, allowing her tears to fall freely into the ocean and mix with the salt water. �Please, I just want to remember.�
And suddenly, she felt dizzy as the world turned upside down.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
�Koneko!�
Tenshi hadn�t planned on following Neko into the ocean. She knew Neko was confused, but figured that she needed some time alone before Tenshi would attempt to comfort her again.
But then Neko had disappeared.
Tenshi sprinted to the water�s edge and was about to run in to search for Neko, when she saw the reflection of not just one, but two moons.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Neko looked around in confusion as she found herself back in the reflecting pool. She glanced up at the sky. There again were the two moons, one a little more than half way full and one completely full, just like last time.
*No, not just like last time* she realized. *They switched. The one that was full last time is moving towards a last quarter moon.*
The other moon is the moon of Eryx as seen from your palace. It�s not yet full there.
She looked down at the pond. Just as before, she was in her deep pink princess dress. And just like last time, though both moons were reflected, her reflection was not there. It was all the same.
Her heart filled with hope. *I�m being given a second chance!*
She ineffectively wiped her damp face with her dripping wet hand, and tried to regain control of her voice. She didn�t want to start while it was likely to break. She wanted it to be perfect.
And then she realized something was missing. She looked helplessly at the shore of the pond, but the four lights that represented the stones they had collected, were missing. They had disappeared when she had performed the ritual last time and, naturally, did not actually sit on the bank of the pool now.
She closed her eyes in defeat. *I can�t do it! After all I went through� all everyone went through for me, I failed again!*
She began to shiver from the cold. Or perhaps it was trembling from fear and disappointment. She was never going to be whole again. She would never remember what she had gone through with Tenshi and Mi-chan. She could never understand the emotions that guided her. She so wanted to.
�O- Onegai, kami of the forest, hear my plea,� she recited, her voice shaking. She didn�t know what had possessed her to even try, but now she had started and found she couldn�t stop. �Kami of the mountain, transmit my wish. Guardian Eryx�.� She paused to keep her voice in check. �Guardian Eryx, grant me what I desire. Find it within yourself to return what has been stolen from me. Four�,� her voice broke, despite all her efforts to the contrary. There were no four heartbeats, nor nothing to signify them. Still she pressed on. �Four hearts beat together in one and ask for this gift.�
As she spoke those words, she could feel it within her � the light. The power from the stones hadn�t disappeared, it had entered her body and waited dormant for her return. Now it surrounded her, lighting up the pool and the night. She could feel Jasper�s, Mi-chan�s, and Tenshi�s hearts all beating with hers, and their love for her made her strong.
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