Chapter Eighteen
The Merging
Previously…
She opened her eyes and rolled over. The cackling fire was dying down into embers. She sighed and faintly smiled. On the floor a top of a bearskin rug, Eiji slept peacefully. He watched the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he inhaled and exhaled in his sleep. She couldn't believe the huge twist in her life. She was now a married woman. She snuggled deeper into her blanket. She racked her eyes over his peaceful face. He was such a gentleman. Even though they were married, he never pressured her to do something that made her uncomfortable. They had kissed earlier that night, and that was all. She touched her lips and smiled. She closed her eyes and peacefully drifted back to sleep.
Continuing…
She awoke to the sound of rustling inside the hut. She squinted her eyes and sat up. It was dark in the hut, and only the faint light of the dying fire illuminated the darkness. "What's going on," She mumbled.
Eiji was already awake and walking around the hut. "It's morning, Princess Lita."
She was physically tired and emotionally exhausted. She slept hard that night, but it felt like she needed to sleep more. "Why are we up so early?"
He stopped and looked at her, completely confused. "What do you mean? We slept in." He continued walking around the hut. "The wedding couple gets to sleep in for two whole days and doesn't have to do chores either," He sounded rather excited.
She got up out of bed. "What do we do now?"
He looked over at her. "We'll go to breakfast." He walked over to the entrance and lifted the bearskin flap. "Let's go."
She yawned and followed him out of the hut. From the position of the sun in the sky, she guessed it was about eight in the morning. She closed her eyes and yawned again, but fluttered them open at the sound of clapping. She looked around. The entire village stood outside the tent and cheered loudly for their Princess.
She looked around, utterly confused.
Sayuri walked up through the crowd. She placed her hand on Eiji's cheek and grasped a hold of Lita's hand with her other hand. "Is everything all right, Princess?"
"Well…I…uh…I didn't know this was going to happen…I'm a little…" Lita stuttered.
A saddened look appeared on Sayuri's face. "Is everything not good, Princess? Are you displeased with my son?"
"No! No!" Lita looked frantic. "Everything is fine." She nodded furiously. "Your son is fine. He pleases me."
Sayuri's frown turned into a smile. She bowed her head and placed both her hands on Lita's cheeks. "I am happy to have you as a daughter, Princess. I shall be a mother to you and love you as my own." Immediately, Sayuri pulled Lita through the crowd and Eiji followed. Soon Eiji's four sisters joined them jabbering on to Eiji in their own language and giggling. They clung tightly to their big brother and pulled on his arms for attention. Sayuri led Lita into her own hut. The fire was roaring in the fireplace, the smell of fresh bread filled the air, and the table was already set. Lita was sat down at the table first, and Eiji was guided by his mother to sit next to her. The four girls crowded onto the table, fighting for positions next to the newlyweds, while their mother served the breakfast. She first served Lita and Eiji then her four girls. Lita got the cue that she was to wait for Sayuri to sit before she could eat. Finally, the mother sat down, and they all started to eat.
"Is everything good, Princess?" Sayuri asked.
Lita nodded. "Yes, it is wonderful." She paused for a moment. "You may all call me, Lita. You don't have to call me Princess."
"But you are the Princess," Aya spoke up.
Lita faintly nodded then looked around. "Yes, I may be the Princess, but now we are family."
They all stopped eating and they stared at Lita. She became nervous at their reaction until Sayuri reached over and grasped her hand. Lita looked up at the women and faintly smiled when the woman appeared to have tears of joy in her eyes.
"You are wonderful, Lita. No doubt you are the Princess." A tear escaped her eye. "I am happy to have you in our family."
"Do you like your hut, Lita?" Yumi asked, trying out her new title for the Princess. "I helped Eiji build it."
Lita turned to Eiji.
Eiji cleared his throat. "When a man gets married, he is supposed to build a hut for his future family."
"Family?" Lita looked around.
"Speaking of which…" Rina started to giggle. "How many children are you going to have?"
"Children?" Lita uttered. She almost forgot about that aspect of marriage.
"Rina!" Keiko hissed. "Stop being so nosy—they'll figure things out in their own time."
Lita looked down at her breakfast—suddenly she didn't feel so hungry anymore.
After breakfast, Eiji showed her around the village and introduced her to many people. Hardly any of them spoke Japanese except for a couple of young people, but they all were very friendly towards her. Eiji gave her a tour of all the buildings and told her who lived where, and what they did for a living. After the tour in the morning, they had lunch again at his mother's house. And after lunch, he took her out into the woods. The pathways were twisting and strenuous, but Eiji walked as if he was on an afternoon stroll. Lita, however, was huffing and puffing all the way. Before she came here, she never thought she was out of shape, but now, she seriously considered otherwise. However, Eiji was patient with her, and always stopped when she needed to rest. Soon they started to descend down hill through the woods, and they came to the edge of the forest.
Lita walked up to the tree line and peered out. She gasped. It was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. For miles a low valley of tall grass stretched out until it reached the base of a mountain. As the valley dipped in the middle, a small creek tore through the landscape. She looked over at Eiji, who was smirking since he seemingly impressed her.
"It's one of my favorite places to come."
Lita nodded. She could understand why. Eiji stepped out into the grass and started walking. She followed behind him. They tromped through the grass for a long time until they reached the small creek. Eiji jumped onto a rock in the middle of the creek and stooped down. He cupped his hand and drank from the creek. Lita was always taught never to do things like that, but she shrugged and did it anyway. The water was cool and refreshing, and it didn't have any chemicals, like chlorine, in it like the city water she was used to drinking. She stood up and hopped to the other side. She did the same; however, the last leap was long, and she would have fallen in if it wasn't for Eiji's assistance.
They spent all afternoon in the grassland. The grass was so tall that it practically engulfed her. She could only see the top part of Eiji's head when she looked over at him. Part of that made her feel safer since she could hide her facial expressions and emotions. Yes, she was supposed to get to know him, but part of her didn't want to let herself be known. They sat in the grass while discussing small talk to get to know each other.
"So what do you do for fun?" Lita asked.
"Go for walks, talk with people, explore stuff." He shrugged. "How about you?"
"I like to cook, read, and garden." Lita sighed. Thoughts of her old life came into her mind. "There are many things to do in the city."
"Which city to you live in?"
"Tokyo."
"Tokyo!" Eiji exclaimed. "You live in the biggest city in Japan."
"Yes?" She sounded confused at his reaction.
He seemed excited. "I've never been to a city before. I've only been to the town where I went to school. There were only a thousand people there. And Tokyo…" He took a deep breath. "It has millions of people. I can't imagine it."
Lita thought for a moment. She had left Tokyo four days ago. Her friends were probably worrying about her. She knew she would need to get back soon, but part of her didn't want to leave. She was treated so nicely in the village, and being away from the hustle and bustle of the city helped calm her emotions. She sighed. "I will have to return to Tokyo soon."
"Why? I thought you came to get your crystal."
She nodded. "I did, and now I have it. I must return to the city to be with my friends."
"But Lita…" He uttered. "Didn't you come to live with us?"
Lita looked down at her feet. "Eiji, I didn't know by coming here and looking for the crystal this would happen to me. You see, the other Princesses are my friends, and we all are supposed to protect the Earth from evil. I needed to find the crystal so I would have the power to fight the evil that is trying to destroy Earth. I need to go back to Tokyo to help my friends."
Eiji nodded as he thought deeply. "I understand."
"You do?"
He kept nodding. "Yes, I must come with you to Tokyo then."
Lita closed her eyes. He didn't seem to understand. How would it look if she went back to Tokyo and had to explain to everyone that she was married over the weekend to a tribal boy through a primitive ritual? "Eiji…" She breathed in exasperation.
"What?"
She shook her head. "Never mind."
Eiji was silent for a moment, but then he looked up at the sky. A high flying airliner cut through the sky. He pointed to it. "Look a plane. I've never been on one, have you?" After a few moments of silence, he looked over at her. She wouldn't look up, and she only stared at her feet. "What's wrong, Lita?"
"I hate airplanes."
"Why?"
She sighed. "My parents died in a plane crash a few years ago." She shook her head. "I'm terrified of them."
Eiji sighed too. "I'm sorry." He was silent for a moment. "I understand how you feel."
"How can you understand what I feel?" She asked almost bitterly, with tears in her eyes.
"My father died of pneumonia about six years ago." His heart started to feel sad. "I was only thirteen. It was then I needed my father the most, and he wasn't there."
Lita looked back over at Eiji, peering through the grass. His head was turned, attempting to hide his face from Lita. She was sorry for her streak of anger. She fell silent. They sat there in silence for a long time.
They had sat in the grass long into the afternoon in silence. She spent her time looking over the green crystal Eiji gave her. Supposedly, this was the Planet Crystal she was looking for, and it gave the villagers the ability to see the past. She closed her eyes and squeezed the crystal hoping to see a glimpse of the past. Nothing happened. She glanced over at Eiji. He had already lied down in the grass. She squeezed the crystal again. How could there be such a gap inside between the past and the present. Deep down inside, she knew that her past was once connected with this boy, but her present felt so disconnected. She leaned forward to get a better look at him. His eyes were closed as he peacefully napped. He sure was a handsome boy as her eyes racked over him. It was difficult to find guys who were taller than her, but he was. He was extremely strong and fit, but his face was gentle and friendly. And his eyes—she did love to look at them.
"Sailor Jupiter!"
"What in the world?" Lita whispered to herself. She stood up from the grass clutching onto the green crystal. She looked forward across the grassy field. "Who are you?" She called out.
The blue haired woman with colorful highlights stood firm with a pair of daggers in her hand. "Hand over the crystal!"
"Who the heck are you?" Lita threw her fits up.
The young woman spun her daggers around and smirked. "Alexandrite, General of the Wind. Now give me the crystal!"
Lita reached for her Sailor pen. "So you're one of Beryl's lackeys!" But before she could grab it, Alexandrite flew forward and charged into Lita. Lita flew back while her arms went up in the air. The crystal flew up into the air. Lita's eyes went up to the blue sky and locked on the falling crystal. "NO!" She watched as it fell into a hand, but sighed in relief when she saw that Eiji caught it.
"Who the heck are you?" Alexandrite hissed. Eiji smirked as he looked over at Alexandrite. "You're messing with the wrong person."
She almost laughed at Eiji's words then she charged at Eiji. He blocked her advance then threw a punch. Lita blinked. The two fighters clashed and bashed against each other like blurs. The moved so fast that Lita could barely keep up. After a few attacks and counterattacks, they pulled away from each other. Alexandrite glanced over at Lita and charged toward her.
Lita's first reaction was to shield herself, but after a few moments, she noticed everything was okay. She looked up. Eiji had blocked Alexandrite's attack. The blue haired woman grew angry. She leapt and started throwing energy attacks at the couple. Eiji blocked all of the energy attacks. "LITA, RUN! RUN BACK INTO THE FOREST!"
She couldn't move. He glanced back at her. "RUN!" As he glanced back, one of the energy attacks got through. He was hit in the chest, and he fell backward. "EIJI!" She caught him in her arms as he gasped for air. The crystal fell out of Eiji's hand, and she picked it up. She squeezed it and looked up at the smirking Alexandrite.
It felt like time stopped. From the hand that squeezed the crystal, power surged up her arm into her chest, down her legs, and back up to her head. The small crystal on her tiara lid up, and the same power that filled her body flooded into her mind. Her eyes closed. Electricity surged through every fiber and vein of her body. Time seemed to start again when she opened her eyes. Electricity swirled through the iris of her eyes.
Alexandrite charged again, but it seemed like a normal charge. Suddenly, Alexandrite's movements weren't as fast as they once were, and when she collided with the warrior, it wasn't such a powerful blow. She threw a punch at Alexandrite, and she actually managed to hit the warrior. The blue-haired woman flew back a few feet. Sailor Jupiter marveled and looked at her hands. This was why Tuxedo Samurai told them to get the Planet Crystals. Alexandrite charged again. Sailor Jupiter reached her hands out again. Large bolts of electricity leapt from her hands and circled around Alexandrite. The electricity shook through Alexandrite's body and sent her flying.
After being blown a few feet back, Alexandrite lay twitching on the ground and shaking violently.
Sailor Jupiter ran over to Eiji and shook him. "Eiji, are you alright?" She helped him sit up. He looked up at her looking dizzy. "Princess Jupiter?"
Sailor Jupiter stood up and turned back towards the forest. "We should get back to the village quickly."
"Sailor Jupiter!" Eiji hollered.
She turned around. Two daggers flew at her, but even her new powers couldn't react that fast. Suddenly, the boy leapt in front of her, and the two daggers hit his shoulders.
"EIJI!"
As the daggers hit him, they fell to the ground.
"WHAT?" Alexandrite exclaimed.
Sailor Jupiter looked up. The boy, Eiji, stood dressed in a black tuxedo. His tuxedo was all black with a black mask that covered his whole face with a black mask for his glasses just like the other tuxedo warriors had white masks. He pulled back his hand and flung it forward. "Perhaps I should return the metal?"
Five sharp metal pins flew forward towards Alexandrite. She managed to dodge two of them, but three of them went into her shoulder. Streaks of blood flowed down her arm and paralyzed her right arm. She looked down at her wound then disappeared.
Sailor Jupiter took a step back to look at Eiji. "What happened to you?"
He turned around. "I think I should ask what happened to you." He smirked. Electric currents flowed around Sailor Jupiter's body.
"Eiji?" She stepped forward.
He still was smirking. "Call me Tuxedo Ninja."
It was night again. She sat next to the fireplace staring at the green crystal. It had given her amazing powers. She glanced over at Eiji, who was gently rocking asleep in the chair. There was another Tuxedo warrior. Tuxedo Mask was the protector of Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Knight was the protector of Sailor Mercury, and Tuxedo Samurai seemingly was the protector of Sailor Mars. By that logic, Eiji, who was Tuxedo Ninja, must have been her protector. She squeezed the crystal. It was no use—she couldn't see the past like the villagers could. She lay down on the bearskin rug that stretched across the floor and closed her eyes. The warmth of the fire felt good against her skin as she fell asleep that night.
She found herself saying day after day in the village. She always told herself that she would leave the next day, but that day would come, and she'd make the same promise for the next day. It was a peaceful life. The villagers were so kind to her, and even treated her somewhat goddess like. Eiji would take her on walks to explore all of his favorite places around the area, and as each day passed, she grew stronger to trek though the strenuous paths. Soon, she was able to run the paths along with Eiji and chase after him when he made jokes about her. His sisters were also very kind to her. Keiko would take her on long walks to talk as great friends would while the youngest sister, Rina, would braid her hair and talk about boys with Lita. Yumi showed Lita how to properly use a bow and arrow while Aya would practice martial arts with her. Lita's times with Sayuri were usually in the kitchen. Together, they cooked the meals that the family ate. Even though, Sayuri didn't speak much Japanese, she still was great company to Lita, and she was picking up Japanese much faster.
It felt almost surreal—to have someone at her side when she cooked. It was like having a mother. Lita stopped chopping the vegetables once that thought struck her. She paused for a few moments then continued chopping, this time slamming the knife into the vegetables.
"Is there something wrong, Lita?" Sayuri asked.
"No." Lita kept stabbing the knife harder and harder until she finally dropped the knife. She looked over at Sayuri with tears in her eyes. Sayuri grabbed a hold of Lita's hands and let her out of the kitchen part of the hut. She sat Lita down in a wooden chair next to the fireplace.
"What is wrong?"
Lita tried to choke back her tears. She didn't want to disappoint Sayuri with all of her ill-feelings towards her marriage. "Nothing."
"Lita," Sayuri said sternly.
"It's nothing." Lita looked at Sayuri's eyes. "It just…I'm scared." More tears poured out of her eyes. "I didn't know by coming here that all these things would happen to me. I didn't know I was going to get married. I don't mean this in an offensive way, but I don't even know Eiji, and now I'm married to him…" She trailed off from her ramblings.
Sayuri listened closed and processed the Japanese she just heard. "I did not know my husband when I married him, but we learned to love each other. You have the crystal—you and Eiji are destined for each other."
Lita wept bitterly while putting out the crystal. "I don't understand! You all can see the past! I see nothing!" She exclaimed. "I hate this stupid crystal!"
"Hush, child." Sayuri put her hands over Lita's. "It will be alright. Just close your eyes."
Lita closed her tear-filled eyes. Sayuri's hands clasped the crystal over her own. Sayuri started to speak in her own language. At first, Lita couldn't understand, but after a few moments, the words started to make sense. It clicked. This language was once the language of the past—the language of Jupiter.
"Spirit of Jupiter, show her the past, show her destiny, show her who she really is," Sayuri uttered in the ancient language.
Pictures flashed through Lita's mind. A lifetime of memories, thoughts, impressions, feelings, and ideas filled her mind. The gap between the past and the present started merging insider her heart. All the experiences she had as Princess Jupiter of the past were now just as fresh and new as the present. Memories of her parents, her planet, her people, her friends at the Silver Millennium court, and memories of her past love came to her mind.
The Princess walked down the long Venetian style hallway. The warm sun seeped through the large windows and illuminated the marble hallway. She passed by column after column, but out from behind one of them, a young stepped out and followed the Princess. She had walked a considerable distance before she noticed she was being followed. She stopped, smiling to herself. "You can come out now."
"Your senses are getting keener, Princess, but I still could have killed you before you even noticed."
She spun around, smirking. Her eyes laid upon a young man dressed in forest gold robes with gold lining. He was Jupiter's Greatest Champion, and one of the Royal Army's most prized warriors. "You've already killed me."
"I don't understand." He walked up to her.
The Princess wrapped her arms around the neck of her bodyguard. "I can't live without you." She snuggled her head into his chest. "I love you."
From her childhood on Jupiter to her death on the Moon, Lita remembered everything from her past life. She fluttered her tear-filled eyes open to see the smiling Sayuri.
"Do you understand now?"
Lita nodded. "Yes, I understand."
"Do you feel better?"
Lita sat in silence for a moment. "I know this is all true, but what should I do now? I don't feel ready to accept this responsibility."
Sayuri grasped Lita's hand. "You are ready, my daughter."
After dinner, they all sat around the fireplace. The girls were always chatterboxes, but Sayuri, Eiji, and Lita sat quietly in the room. Eiji rocked back and forth in his chair gently while lazily looking over the room. Sayuri concentrated on knitting a blanket, but Lita merely stared into the cackling fire. So many thoughts swirled through her mind at that moment. She slipped her hand into her pocket and grasped onto the crystal. She knew the truth now—but most importantly, she felt the truth. She glanced over at Eiji for a few moments then looked back into the fire. She knew and felt the truth, but what was she supposed to do with it? Staring deeply into the fire, she pondered this question over and over again as the time passed.
Eventually, she stood up from her chair and started to walk out of the room. Eiji opened his eyes and sat up in his chair. "Lita, where are you going?"
"I need some time to think." She exited the room.
Eiji stood up, ready to chase her, but a look from his mother stopped him. He sat back down in frustration.
"Let her have time to think." Sayuri kept her eyes on her work.
Eiji sighed and leaned back into the chair. He was usually a talkative boy, but he was silent most of the night as his thoughts consumed him. His sisters drifted off to bed one by one while his mother put her project away. Sensing the hour was late, he kissed his mother goodbye and left the hut. As he exited, he looked up into the clear night sky. The stars were bright and beautiful on that cold night. He wrapped his arms over his chest to keep warm as he walked through the dark street towards his hut. He sighed deeply, released penned up emotions within his heart into the cold air. It turned to mist and drifted away. He reached his hut—heart full of sorrow—and paused before entering. He knew deep down inside that the Princess was not pleased with him. He sighed again, sensing the hour was late, and entered into the hut.
"Eiji!" Lita gasped in surprise, slighting jumping from the startle. Her thoughts had clearly been elsewhere.
He bowed his head. "I'm sorry to have startled you, Princess. I just wanted to say goodnight."
"Goodnight?" She stood up from the bed. "What do you mean?"
"I assume you will be heading back to Tokyo tomorrow, and I wanted to bid you goodnight and good trip before you leave in the morning…" He tried to say as emotionless as possible despite the fact that it clearly bothered him.
"Aren't you saying here tonight?"
He shook his head. "No, Princess…" He turned his head away. "I'm hunter, and I should be out hunting early tomorrow…" He tried to make his excuses sound believable, but the emotion in his voice made it impossible.
"Eiji," Lita uttered. She walked up to him and stood there for a moment. He looked down, locking his sad eyes with her. She gingerly reached her hands up and rested them on his shoulders. He looked at her strangely for a moment, but she leaned in slowly and kissed him. After a few moments, they pulled away from one another and stared each other down. Blushing, she looked down to the floor. Confusion still marked his face as he watched the brunette starting to tremble.
"Lita?" He faintly uttered.
She glanced up at him, biting her lip, with innocent eyes. She watched her eyes closely—there was love and warm, but also fear. She tore her eyes away from him for a second and looked to the ground. Her arms came up to her neck, and she glanced back up at him. She slowly pulled her robe apart, grazing it across her bare shoulders, then letting it fall to the ground.
Surprise and fear washed over Eiji's face. His eyes went frantically across Lita's body. He had never seen a woman like this before, but he calmed down from his initial reaction—this was his wife. He slowly stepped forward and took the trembling woman into his arms. "I love you."
She buried her face into his chest. "I love you too."
The fire had died down into tiny embers. It was cold in the hut, but none of them wanted to get up to kindle the fire. She snuggled against him under the bearskin blanket, and stared into his lovely brown eyes. She had never felt something so wonderful as she felt earlier that night. He held onto her hand and kissed her fingers. With his other hand, he played with the messy locks of hair that fell over her face.
Wanting to go to sleep, she turned onto her other side and snuggled against her husband. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. He took a deep breath, taking in the scent of her hair, then closed his eyes. He fell asleep almost instantly.
She smiled as she closed her eyes. It was the worst point of her life when she came to the village, but now things were so different. Now she was laying under the covers with her husband—the man she loved throughout eternity. Her thoughts drifted back to her friends. She smirked. Yes, she would have to explain to everyone that she was married over the weekend to a tribal boy through a primitive ritual, but she didn't care anymore. The past had merged with the present, and she had merged with her husband that night.