Plastic Memories: The True Price of Freedom
by Reddawnrocker
Plastic Memories is the property of Doga Kobo. I am but a fan paying tribute to one of the most romantic anime ever created. This will be an ongoing, multi-chapter story which will run until the story is complete. Enjoy.
For Tsukasa Mizugaki, life both began and ended in the same year. A cruel twist of fate ended his first love, Isla's existence in the blink of an eye; another cruel twist of fate has brought her back...but at just as cruel a cost. What do you do when your one true love has no idea who you are, who she was and has no idea if she'll ever remember? What of Michiru Kinushima, the girl watching on the sidelines hoping for her chance at the love she once thought lost? And what of Eru Miru, the woman who believed her one true love was lost to her forever? Just how much difference can one young man make?
"Having happy and beautiful memories won't always bring you salvation. The more beautiful a memory is, the more painful it can become. It can even become terrifying. Both for the one who's leaving... And for the one left behind." - Isla
Chapter 1
"Hi, my name is Marie," the beautiful violet-white haired young lass greeted Tsukasa Mizugaki with a smile, her blood red-eyes delivering a softness to her lips instead of the ire or anger one would imagine, "Please take care of me".
'Marie,' Tsukasa thought to himself, 'how am I supposed to deal with this. In front of the young lad stood the girl he'd fallen in love with. 'Why can't she remember me? Please remember me, Isla'; He thought while trying not to let his tears show in front of the whole Terminal Service Office staff. He promised himself he'd tough it out. He never thought it would be this hard to do though. He choked back the tears and forced a huge smile onto his trembling lips. The Isla he knew and loved was gone and there would be no return for her. The Giftia in front of him was just Isla's re-used shell; the circuitry and logic chips belonged to someone else now.
"Pleased to meet you, Marie! I promise to watch over you as my new partner and friend!" Tsukasa managed to get out without falling apart. He'd remember saying something similar to Isla before finding out she just had months left to live. She was nearing her expiration date and the company they worked for planned to put her down like a dog; They did, and she went peacefully knowing she wouldn't turn into a "Wanderer", a mindless Giftia with the potential to kill. He didn't want to let her go but accepted her choice, knowing all too well it was her fear of hurting him that made her the most afraid. When they said goodbye she cried, as well, he remembered before finally realizing what grief stopped him from remembering that night. 'Giftia aren't supposed to cry,' he thought to himself, but it was too late for it to matter now. Isla is gone, Marie now stands in her place and her body. As he took her hand he wondered if she could feel him shaking.
'Why did he ask for her to be reprogrammed?' Michiru Kinushima thought to herself just as much in worry as in jealousy for the young man her heart was fond of. 'Doesn't he understand how much this is tearing him apart?' she couldn't help but think to herself, worrying about the fragile young man she fell for the first day they met. He had eyes for Isla, her best friend, and she would never stand in the way of Isla finding happiness despite her pain seeing them happily together. She lost her friend, he lost his love; surely this would be a time for them to comfort each other, instead he asked for Isla to be re-programmed and sent back to them. 'How can I fight the memories of a ghost?' Michiru thought to herself just seconds before realizing an even more painful question 'How can I live side by side with the walking corpse of the best friend I ever had?". Unlike Tsukasa, she couldn't hold back her tears and quickly excused herself walking away, as her partner and little brother, Zack followed close behind, wondering if his big sister would be all right. He knew, in his heart, the answer was most likely no.
"Now that that's out of the way it's time to get some work done" Kazuki Kuwanomi exclaimed in her usual gruff tone to her employees. "Tsukasa, it'll be your job to get Marie caught up on the current caseload. Can you handle it?" Kazuki inquired in a caring way she rarely showed publicly.
"It'll be my pleasure" he responded with that same false smile on his face he'd put on just awhile ago. He'd wait until the day was over when he was alone in his room to have a cry; pretty much the same thing he'd done every night since Isla left him. His world pretty much fell apart when the next words came out of Kazuki's mouth. He'd heard them once before. He never thought he'd hear them again. They scared him.
"Tsukasa, you two will be sharing a room" Kazuki bellowed "Make sure nothing indecent happens!"
Tsukasa froze in his tracks. In a matter of seconds he began shaking in his own skin.
"B-but Kazuki..." Tsukasa began to stammer before getting shut down by Kazuki.
"Do you have a problem with that, Tsukasa?" Kazuki more demanded to know than ask "If you do we could always find you a new partner?"