Zoisite had to jerk his hands back quickly to prevent the lid from closing on his fingers. He glared up at Kunzite, "What do you want?"
"I am ready for your assistance," Kunzite said, "the conditions are perfect."
Zoisite sighed and turned away from him. "Not now."
"Yes now," Kunzite said firmly, hauling the white haired man to his feet. With a swish of his cape, Kunzite teleported them to a wooded area. Zoisite blinked away the disorientation, and looked around. Kunzite had been busy - there was a full altar set up, everything was prepared for a high ritual from the Past Life. Neither of them had been priest-mages, but both of them knew the basics.
"You are really going to break free from Beryl-sama's hold on us," he said flatly.
"Yes," Kunzite said.
Zoisite approached the altar respectfully, an old habit ingrained in him. "No."
Kunzite blinked, "pardon?"
"Beryl-sama's hold is the only thing preventing you from killing the master," Zoisite said, running a gloved hand over the carved surface of the altar, "And it is the only thing keeping me alive."
The candles around the clearing sputtered into flame as Kunzite lit them. Zoisite wrinkled his nose at the scent. He didn't want to ask where Kunzite had found the proper candles for the ritual.
"I cannot help you."
Kunzite did not respond, his attention on the ground. He drew his sword and touched the flat of the blade reverently.
"Are you listening to me?"
The dark haired Shitennou held his sword out, point downwards. Power coursed along the blade, and Zoisite realized a split second too late what Kunzite was about to do.
Kunzite thrust his sword downward, deep into the ground. The silent pulse of power, invisible to most, coursed through the air, nearly throwing Zoisite off his feet. It formed a shell around them, enclosing the clearing in a protective soap bubble, but infinitely stronger. The strong shell would keep out unwanted influences. It was equally good at keeping reluctant assistants from walking or teleporting away.
Kunzite quietly removed the microscopic smudges from his sword while Zoisite cursed him loudly and creatively.
"Now then," Kunzite said, once Zoisite paused for breath, "Are you going to cooperate?"
Zoisite folded his arms. "You aren't listening to me. I told you why I am not going to help you."
"I understand your reasoning," Kunzite said.
Zoisite relaxed marginally, but only a little. He did not know what Kunzite was planning, but he suspected he was not going to like it. A slight tensing on Kunzite's part was just enough warning for Zoisite to dart out of the way as Kunzite dove to tackle him. The dark haired Shitennou was only thrown off balance for a moment, whirling to face Zoisite, who was backing away.
Zoisite considered his options. He wasn't armed, Kunzite had teleported him away too quickly for that. He couldn't teleport away, he couldn't even run out of the circle. He darted away, keeping the minimal shelter of the altar between himself and Kunzite.
The two of them circled the altar for a moment, in a parody of a ritual of power.
Kunzite had half expected some resistance. He had prepared for this when he had built the altar - there had been slight alterations to the design. As he chased Zoisite around the corner, the white haired shitennou's heavily embroidered sleeve caught on the corner of the altar. While he tried to free himself, Kunzite caught up to him and gave him a hard push onto the altar. He'd secured Zoisite's wrists before he even had a chance to react.
Zoisite struggled, his fingers twitching reflexively as he searched for the piano keys.
"Now listen to me," Kunzite said firmly, holding him down, "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so already. I've had plenty of opportunities in the past week."
"What are you going to do?" he asked, barely controlling his fear.
"Just as I said," Kunzite stepped away, "I am going to break Beryl-sama's curse. The prince will not stop seeing the princess." He opened a black wooden box, removing a deceptively simple knife. The handle was plain, and the blade was thin, certainly not impressive.
Zoisite was silent for a moment.
"I cannot focus on my revenge and my freedom from Beryl-sama when I am distracted by you," Kunzite said.
Zoisite closed his eyes. "She'll know, and she will just curse him again."
"She will not know right away," Kunzite said, "It will not matter, in the end. History is repeating itself. We cannot stop it. We can just try to survive it."
"Give me something to bite down on," the white haired Shitennou said finally.
*~*~*~*~*
The stars were aligned properly, the time of year, and day, and even the weather was just perfect. Zoisite lay still on the altar, still retrained, per his own request. Kunzite did not blame him, this was probably going to hurt, a lot, but it had to be done.
The black haired Shitennou grounded and centered his power. He was one of the earth lords, and this area had never been touched by the modern world. The power here was pure. He approached the altar, holding the ceremonial knife, honed to a sharpness Ami's mother would have been proud to use in her surgery.
Kunzite murmured softly under his breath, half a prayer, half a spell. The knife in his hand started to glow. Using his Other Sight, he could clearly see the cursed stone in Zoisite's chest, now he just had to remove it.
The first cut was clean, passing through fabric and skin. Zoisite hissed, but Kunzite ignored him.
The second cut was deeper.
The stone was small. All this trouble over such a tiny thing. Kunzite used the knife to pry the stone from where it was nestled. He set it down gently on the altar. The knife was returned to its box. He would clean it later.
Kunzite placed a hand over the wound, golden healing power flowing through him. Zoisite's skin knit itself back together without a trace of the knife. Zoisite groaned slightly, but relaxed.
Kunzite undid the restraints, and took out a cloth to clean the knife.
The white Shitennou lay there for a moment longer before sitting up with a groan.
"how are you feeling?" Kunzite asked.
"Like I was stabbed in the chest," Zoisite replied, "That hurt."
He looked at the pebble on the altar next to him. It was a round smooth grey stone. Harmless, even to his Other Sight. And yet…
"What do we do with it?" he asked.
"I was thinking of sending it to the senshi," Kunzite said, "One of them lives in some sort of temple, with gardens. One more pebble would not be noticed."
"When will the next time of optimal power be?" Zoisite asked softly.
"Next month," Kunzite said simply, as he put the knife away, "I can wait until then."
Thank you. Zoisite picked up the cursed stone gingerly, "I am going to dispose of this. I know where the temple is."
It was the right thing to do. Kunzite nodded, "Take care of it quickly."
The black haired Shitennou broke the circle of protection and Zoisite teleported away. He appeared behind the temple - at this time of day, there were very few visitors. It only took a few moments to bury the stone amidst a pile of similar ones in a rose garden.
Then, he went home. Kunzite was wrong. History would not repeat itself. He would not allow it.