The Past Life

The blade was ripped from me when Master's attacker realized his mistake, but Kunzite was on top of him before he could correct it. With one hand he pressed the blade of his sword to the man's throat, his other arm pinning the attacker's arms at his sides. “Drop it,” he hissed. I had never heard Kunzite speak with such venom in his voice.

The young man obeyed the order, and the dagger fell to the ground, clanging off the stone.

I realized at this point that my hand was clutching my stomach. Pulling my hand away, I saw that my white uniform and glove were now stained crimson and the stain was spreading. The sight of this confused me for some reason. The next thing I noticed was a weakness in my legs, then the sensation of falling, but someone caught me before I hit the ground. They lowered me down gently and rested my head in their lap.

I opened my eyes and looked up into the face of my Master. His expression was one of shock. “Master... are you alright?” I asked slowly.

He nodded, “I'm fine.”

I could hear Kunzite issuing orders to Nephrite and Jadeite. Something about the driver of the carriage and a doctor. He had to yell Jadeite's name several times before he got a response. I turned my head to the side and saw that the youth was staring at me. He looked white as a sheet.

“Jadeite! The doctor!” Kunzite screamed at him. This time apparently getting through.

“R... right!” He turned and ran back towards the palace.

My eyes suddenly felt very heavy and I closed them. The desire to sleep was overwhelming, and I saw no reason to fight it.

“Zoisite. Zoisite! Stay with me!” My Master's voice and the feeling of being shaken brought me back to reality. “Don't fall asleep,” he said.

'Why can't I sleep?' My thoughts were gradually becoming more clouded and I was less aware of what was going on around me.

“He's losing a lot of blood,” I heard my Master's voice say.

“Master, keep pressure on the wound,” Kunzite instructed. He was close by, but I couldn't see him.

“There was nothing in the carriage. He claims he knew nothing.” This I recognized as Nephrite's voice.

“Take him to the basement then come back quickly.”

The basement? That was where the cells were for prisoners, but they hadn't been used in years. There were no prisoners.

I tried to concentrate on the person looking down at me. My Master's dark brown eyes were still filled with worry. “Are you in pain?” he asked.

“No...” Was I supposed to be?

“Good. Keep talking to me Zoisite. We need to keep you awake.”

“Why?”

“Because if you sleep you may not wake up. Don't think you are finished being one of my guardians just yet.”

Finished? Stop protecting and serving the Master? No. Not while there was still breath in my body. I began to concentrate on staying awake, which was not an easy task. Master did keep talking to me, but it was becoming more and more difficult to focus on his voice.

I soon heard what sounded like the hurried footsteps of someone running towards us. Following that, two people knelt down beside me, Jadeite was one of them. His face showed the same worry as Master's. The palace physician, Dr. Hirai was the second.

“We need to get him inside.”

As I was unable to walk, Jadeite had helped the doctor carry me inside the palace to the infirmary. Master had followed closely behind. I was starting to find it a bit easier to stay awake, and the fog was starting to clear from both my thoughts and vision.

The room was as one would expect. Clean, orderly, and impersonal, not that that bothered me, or would have bothered me had I been in a better state of mind. The cot I was helped onto was stiff and covered in white cotton sheets.

The room was also not particularly large. Once Jadeite and Master had managed to get me settled, it was obvious that one of them was going to have to leave if the physician was going to help me at all. For now he had gone to the adjoining room for various supplies.

“You should probably go back out and see if you can help Kunzite at all,” Master suggested. “I'll stay with him.”

“Alright,” Jadeite agreed, though he looked at me once again with worry. I gave him as much of a nod as I could manage, which seemed put him more at ease. He left and his footsteps could be heard running down the hall.

Master moved closer to the bed and looked down at me. He seemed less worried now that I was under his doctor's watch, though I got the impression he wasn't going to be leaving my side any time soon. He was staring at me with a distant look on his face, as if he was deep in thought. He was brought back to reality when Dr. Hirai returned to the room.

The doctor had been roughly versed in what happened, though he cared little for the politics of it. Stab wound, abdomen, and 10-15cm blade were all he was interested in. He started to undo the clasps of my belt and jacket before stopping and looking up at Master Endymion. “This isn't going to be pretty, your highness.”

Master shook his head. “I'm staying with him.”

The sight of my own blood didn't bother me, but Master had to divert his gaze, returning it to my face. “I'm sorry, Zoisite,' he said quietly.

Dr. Hirai looked up at Master briefly before returning his attention to examining and cleaning the knife wound. I looked at my Master quizzically. “Master?”

“This wouldn't have happened if I had listened to you, I'm sorry.”

I shook my head lightly, though I didn't know what to say in reply.

“I never thought that one of you would be hurt because of this...” he continued.

Doctor Hirai looked up again. “Better one of the Shitennou than yourself,” he commented. His words sounded cold, but they were the truth. Master seemed shocked that the doctor would say such a thing.

“Doctor!”

“He speaks the truth, Master...”

“Try not to talk too much,” Dr. Hirai requested of me, before turning back to Master. “I don't mean simply because you are the prince, your highness. The Shitennou's natural magical abilities give them healing abilities that a regular human, such as yourself, lack. The bleeding has almost completely stopped on its own.”

The doctor stood and left for the other room again for a few moments. While Master was obviously relieved, he seemed to be interested in something on the floor. “This still shouldn't have happened,” he said, more to himself that to me.

“Zoisite will be needing his rest, your highness,” The doctor said as he reappeared with a standard issue patient gown folded in his hands, which he placed on the table beside the bed for now. He dabbed at the wound with a damp cloth a few times and seemed satisfied. “You'll be fine in a few days time, though I can't say the same for your uniform,” he joked.

I smiled half-heartedly at this. “I have others.”

He applied a dressing to the wound then gestured to the table. “For now, you'll be more comfortable in this, I would think.” He looked at Master Endymion again. “I assure you, your highness, he will be fine. You may return to visit tomorrow, but for now, let him rest.”

Master nodded, “of course.” He placed a hand on my shoulder and gave a soft smile before leaving.

The doctor began to help me out of my uniform. As he helped me sit up, a sharp pain shot through my stomach causing me to gasp.

“So you can feel pain after all?” he quipped, though he made an effort to be as gentle as possible. “Is it bad?” he asked.

“No,” I answered. “It just surprised me.”

“Try and get some rest,” Dr. Hirai said as he helped me lie down again. “You'll probably be sore for several days, but you should be out of here before long.”

“Thank you.”