CHAPTER I:
Lost in Time Yet Their Destinies Intertwine
- o - o - o -
When I awoke- only darkness greeted me.
A state of nothingness that didn't frighten me in the slightest. Rather, I felt something akin to peace- a feeling I had not felt in a long time.
'Yet why do you weep?' A voice gently spoke within my mind before I felt tears trickle unknowingly down my cheek.That was when my heart had felt it.
The clenching pain that came with betrayal.
'The peace you feel is nothing but an illusion. A lie to misguide you from what you were meant to accomplish.'
That's right. The promise of freedom in exchange for my life. That was the trap I almost found myself in.
'Do not accept it. You were not meant to die.'
This pain within my heart is a fuel to my burning anger. I was not meant to die like this. I was betrayed- forsaken to this world with no one to remember me.
'Seek her. The one who took away your future.'
The darkness before me suddenly feels suffocating with those words, as if this place is no longer my solace but a prison.
I cannot stay here.
"Let me out!" I call out to the darkness, the black nothingness rippling at my cry.
'Seek her.'
I struggle with the darkness that threatens to envelope me, trying to reassure me of peace but I will not be fooled. I still deserve to live. I still have something I must accomplish.
As if hearing my screams for release, a bright light pierces through the darkness. I feel the darkness around me tremble before they recoiled from the bright presence and I use that as my chance to run towards the light.
Towards the life taken from me.
'Go. Avenge your death.'
- o - o - o -
I had long since known that I did not belong in this time.
From when and where I came from- I didn't know. All I know with certainty was that I had something important to accomplish in this time. What it was, frustratingly, I also did not know. I knew nothing of myself except for those tidbits of information. Even this body did not belong to me, the name Michiru was not mine as was everything this 'person' owned.
Her parents once told me that they had assumed Michiru was a stillborn. She didn't cry like all the other babies and her chest didn't even rise and fall to indicate a breath of life. The doctors called her a miracle when, after five minutes of trying to revive her, her cheeks began to gain color and the loudest wail erupted from the mouth of such a small baby.
I could not tell her parents the truth though. The truth that 'Michiru' had indeed died back then and in her place- my soul had taken residence in her empty husk of a body.
But then again, it's not like they would believe me if I told them.
So I grew up feeling misplaced in this world I was thrust in. Everything felt off, the side-effect of knowing that this was not your time. While frustrating, it only felt appropriate that I started out as a baby. Metaphorically and literally, that was what I was going through as my soul adjusted to this time frame.
As years went by, my soul grew to accept the body I lived in. The name Michiru gradually became my second name while I struggled to remember my real one and soon, even her parents had become a second family to me as days went by.
Of course, this lull of normalcy did not deter me from figuring out who I truly was. The moment I was taught the language of this time and world, that was when my thirst for knowledge began to take root. The mystery surrounding my existence fueled me to read as much as I could, even going so far as to isolate myself from other children 'my' age.
Even if I did try to make friends though, the children didn't seem to like me. 'My' parents once told me that it had something to do with my eyes. I didn't understand what they were insinuating then until a child cried and told me that I had the eyes of a 'dead man'.
Cold and lifeless.
Children were very sensitive to these emotions and so, much to 'my' parents' dismay, I decided to refrain from making unnecessary bonds with them.
Books ended up becoming my sole companions in this adventure to locate my true identity. While, in the long run, I became painfully aware that they were just as clueless as to who I was, they still provided good entertainment and knowledge of this world that I enjoyed learning about.
It has been sixteen years since I've inhabited this body and assumed its name 'Michiru'. Six years of searching for my identity and yet- all to no avail. I feel as though I've wasted a quarter of her life achieving nothing and wondered to myself if maybe I was not meant to know who I once was.
Accepting this time as my own- maybe that was what I was meant to do. There were times I believed that to be the only explanation for why I could not remember anything of who I was before. That, maybe, I indeed am Michiru and that I merely suffered from a temporal disconnect to my own time.
Yet, when I come to accept that to be the case, I can't help but hear a voice within my mind that tells me otherwise.
- o - o - o -
Domino City.
That was the name of the city we were moving to. My father had been promoted quite recently to a high managerial position and had been transferred here, to the company's main branch.
The sudden announcement to move had been my mother's idea, given that she always had a terrible case of separation anxiety whenever father or I were too far from home in extended days due to work (in father's case) or field trips (in my case).
She decided to work in Domino City's museum as their curator for the Egyptology section of the museum after the former curator died of a heart attack. It didn't surprise me that she got hired right away, her past experience as an archeologist carried enough weight in her CV to get her hired.
With my father and mother finally employed and stable within the city, all that was left was getting me into Domino Highschool.
While my prior grades would, no doubt, get me into the school, it was the social life I was leaving behind that bothered my parents. I assured them repeatedly that there wasn't even any friends worth noting that I would miss, considering most of those that I befriended were merely due to the 'necessity' of having them rather than 'wishing' for them.
Group projects were easier to accomplish if you knew the right people, after all.
But a new school meant new people... Maybe I can reconsider it this time as thanks for Michiru who let me live her life when she could not.
"Look, Michiru! That's where I'll be working from now on." My mother tried to gain my attention from the shotgun seat of our car, her finger pointing to the huge building we drove by.
I blinked to try and take in the sight but didn't get the chance to due to the speed of the car. All I caught was the brick wall of the museum that had its name engraved on the metal placard.
"Ah, honey! You should've slowed down so she could enjoy the view!" My mother complained when she realized that I didn't see the museum fully.
My father chuckled over the driver's seat at my mother's childish behavior, his eyes alight with mirth from the rear-view mirror. "She'll have plenty of time to see the museum when we settle down. I'm more concerned about touring our new home and to help the movers sort our furnitures."
"You know as well as I do that my brother is already there to handle it. You just want to catch up on the latest episode of that series you're watching!"
"Nothing gets past my wife it seems." Father shook his head, although that smile still didn't leave his lips.
Mother didn't say anything more after that, opting to act like a petulant child by avoiding my father's teasing smile. Of course, their childish argument didn't last long and soon mother forgave him as quickly as one would blink.
Ah, love. Quite an unusual feeling it is.
- o - o - o -
I could see my uncle's form when we arrived at the apartment complex, his dark wavy hair, almond brown eyes, aquiline nose, thin lips, and tanned skin were almost identical to my mother's if she decided to cross-dress as a guy. Not a surprise there since they're both twins, after all.
He stood by his green pick-up truck, hands crossed while he conversed with one of the movers. He hadn't noticed us until my mother lowered the windows, calling out his name to gain his attention.
He lifted his head at us, flashed us a wide smile, and returned the wave after he finished his conversation with the mover. The moving truck was nowhere to be found when the mover left so it'd only mean that they already finished moving everything into the apartment.
"Yo! You're just in time, Masika." He greeted before turning his eyes to me. "It's been a while isn't it, Michiru. Look at you, you're the spitting image of your mother!"
"She has my eyes you know, Nephi." My father retorted from the driver's seat, my uncle's eyes rolling playfully at him.
"Right. Good for you."
"Nephi!"
"Kidding!" My uncle raised his hands in surrender at my mother's stern call, although the glimmer of mischief in his eyes made it questionable. "I'd like to keep my head thank you very much."
It wasn't a secret that my uncle had a terrible case of being overprotective towards my mother. Being the first one born by a few minutes, he took it upon himself to be the older brother my mother didn't ask for after grandfather had died. I heard from my grandmother that when father visited mother's home to make it official- uncle didn't take it too happily.
Had it not been for father's stubbornness to get uncle to finally accept him into the family then I doubt I'd be sitting here right now.
"I really owe you one, Nephi. I didn't think you'd find an apartment here so quickly."
"Anything for my favorite sister. I even made sure that it's close to Domino High for little Michi here." Uncle puffed his chest with brotherly pride, my mother sighing at his one-sided and over-the-top bragging competition with my father on who is the more reliable man.
"I'm you're only sister, Nephi. Hideo and I are practically married for twenty years so stop it with the competition already." My mother chided to which my uncle glared with feigned hurt at my mother.
My father's smug grin could be seen from the rear-view mirror, the expression not going unnoticed by my uncle who frowned at it.
It looks like it's going to be a long day...
- o - o - o -
The apartment uncle found for us was just a ten-minute bike away from Domino High as he had promised.
It had about three bedrooms, the master's bedroom, my own room, and a guest room. They each had their own bathrooms, which made me wonder how much the place was due to the luxury of our own privacy.
The other things had yet to be unpacked so my uncle would be staying for the night to help us. I proceeded to my room the moment we made it to our apartment, a spark of excitement going off in me at the thought of what my new room would look like.
New things always piqued my curiosity. Maybe it's because I had gotten used to finding clues about myself that any new information I received felt like it might be a key to unlocking the mystery behind my unusual situation.
To be honest, I still haven't given up on that endeavor even though I've somehow settled easily into Michiru's life. I feel like I owe it to her for giving me this second chance so I do my best to live for both our sake while looking for my real self in the process. I still have a lot of unanswered questions and- while I'm not really in any hurry to solve them- I still think that it's a good way of getting that closure I'm looking for.
I'm not stupid. Somewhere deep within me, it's obvious that getting answers will only lead to an ease of mind and nothing more. I've long since established that my original body has long since been gone and that whether I solved my mystery or not- Michiru's body is already my new home.
Not like I'm complaining. Michiru would've had a wonderful life if she had lived in my place. All I can do is live fully for the both of us.
With that thought in mind, maybe I really should reconsider our parents' suggestion and try to make friends for Michiru and myself...
I sighed at the thought, the prospect daunting for me. Books make it sound easy to do but my experiences from when Michiru was young still haunts me to this day. I just hoped that, since most of the teens are about sixteen or seventeen, then maybe they'd be more willing... Right?
"I'll just wing it, I guess..." I mutter before stopping in front of the door that would lead me to my new room.
While the things I brought over didn't change (like my twin-sized bed, my large bookshelf, and my study desk) I still found it exciting to explore the new room that now belonged to me. It actually had a good view of the outside of the apartment, meaning that my side overlooked the front of the building.
The room also had a pretty big closet for storing my clothes (which is a pity given that I didn't have much to begin with... Maybe a scheduled shopping should be in order) and a wonderful lavender wallpaper to match the white curtains I'd be putting up soon. Next to the closet was the door that led to the bathroom which, upon observation, was quite simplistic in style with only the necessities like a mirror and a sink, a toilet, and a shower area.
"How are you liking your room, Michi?" I heard a voice ask me after I exited the bathroom and found my uncle leaning by the doorway.
"I love it, uncle."
"You make it sound forced, Michi..." My uncle sighed at my underwhelming compliment.
I chuckled at his expression while making my way to my bed. "Mother doesn't want you starting another contest with father. It's her standard procedure or so she tells me."
"Why am I not surprised..." My uncle groaned. "Masika's completely smitten with him!"
"She should be. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here." I chided him the way mother had done a while back, a bit miffed that he really hasn't moved on with holding a grudge against my father for no apparent reason other than he was the one my mother married.
There's a limit to being overprotective but this is just downright smothering for my mother. No wonder she has a love-hate relationship with him everytime he visits.
"Nephi! Come help us move the sofa!" I sighed inwardly in relief when my mother's voice reverberated in the hallway, my uncle perking up at being called for help.
Sometimes I wonder if mother has a sixth sense for these things. It's like she heard me inwardly calling for help with uncle and she swooped in to the rescue. I doubt they needed help with the sofa, after all.
I'm feeling pretty sorry for uncle when he finds out but, then again, he probably deserved it if it means putting him in his place.
With uncle out of my room, I decided to unbox my things and set them in their places (like my high school text books and gadgets). It'd probably take an hour or more since I did have a lot of things that the movers didn't touch.
"Let's get started then." I say to no one in particular as I opened the first box and began to rifle through them.
- o - o - o -
By the time I finished sorting my stuff, my mother had knocked to announce that lunch was ready.
"Huh, uncle's not joining us?" I couldn't help but ask my mother when I noticed that only three plates were prepared on the table.
"He had an urgent business to take care of in the museum so he won't be back until later. Something about a misplaced specimen of a prehistoric insect." My mother explained with a shrug before we took our seats and began to eat.
"Mmm~ the beef is cooked just right." I complimented after I savored the meat and casted mother a mocking smile. "Let me guess- father's the one who cooked?"
My mother flinched at the obvious observation before she deflated at my father's chuckling. "She tried to help but I didn't want to risk you getting a stomach ache."
"I'm practicing okay!" My mother whined. "It can't be helped that the kitchen hates me!"
"Mah, I'm sure you'll finally cook something edible someday, mother." I giggle before sipping my water, my mother giving me a light glare before sighing.
"I'm glad Nephi isn't here. This is probably the only time he'd actually side with Hideo and I doubt I can take three of you ganging up on me."
Father and I exchanged muffled laughters at mother's expense after she said that- which was a bad idea because it earned us both her ire to which it resulted with father and I having to clean up while she marched off to their room with whatever dignity she had left.
"Oh. I've almost forgotten, Michi." My father called me over after we fixed the dining area. "Your mother was supposed to tell you to do it but it seems that she might have forgotten since we teased her too much." He added with an amused smile before handing me a white envelope.
I flipped the envelope over to scrutinize it and noticed that a name had been written on the back with mother's beautiful handwriting.
'Mutou Sugoroku'
"There's a game shop not too far from here called 'Kame Games'." My father began. "The old man manning that counter is an old acquaintance of your mother."
"Sugoroku? You mean mother's old mentor back when she was still an archeologist?" I guessed, recalling the middle-aged man that stood next to my mother in one of her older photographs during her trips in Egypt.
He had that Indiana Jones vibe to him, what with the hat and that expression of a man who had gone through dangerous journeys and survived them all. Of course, mother corrected me and said that he was more of a gaming master and a gambler rather than an archeologist.
"But why send me?" I couldn't help but ask. "Why can't she go there herself?"
It was at that point that my father casted me a nervous smile, eyes averting my own questioning ones while he scratched his cheek subconsciously- a sign that he was hiding something.
"Well... They kind of parted ways with a heavy heart so your mother's kind of nervous to see him again personally after all this time."
"Mother and nervous rarely go together. What did she do? Is that man really scary?"
"I'm sure it'll be fine, Michiru. It's been twenty years since then so maybe he's already forgiven her now." My father assured me but I didn't believe him one bit. Mother wouldn't be that desperate to send me on the errand if she believed that twenty years could make Sugoroku forgive her.
But I didn't want to tell my father that. So, in the end, I agreed nonetheless to the request- hoping for once that father's reassurance would really come true.
-To be Continued-