Ghosts

Memory Lost

"And how odd is it to be haunted by someone that is still alive."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"...Who's Minxie?"

It was a simple question, only consisting of two short words, but somehow it was able to knock the wind out of Sasuke completely. He couldn't speak or even breathe; all he could do was stare at her with wide eyes as a million thoughts ran through his head, because she was right there in front of him. Minxie was alive.

But she wasn't supposed to be. More importantly, she couldn't be. Sasuke had watched her die in front of him. He'd felt her leave this world, just as the rest of their team had. And he'd seen Ryuu walk around, alive and well, her life the price she had paid in exchange for her twin brother's resurrection. They'd buried her in front of the whole world, so how the hell was this possible? How was she still alive?

"...I don't understand," Sasuke muttered, mostly to himself, after finally finding his voice. "How is this even possible? Minxie, I thought you were..."

"I'm sorry," she replied calmly, lips curving into a polite smile, but the confusion in her emerald green eyes didn't subside. If anything, it only seemed to grow the more she spoke to him. "But I think you have the wrong person. My name isn't Minxie."

He stared at her, feeling about a thousand different things at once, but it was the pure and utter disbelief that showed the most in his usually blank expression. "...you don't recognize me?"

"Sorry, but no, I don't," she answered, smiling apologetically, but the way he was staring at her made her hesitate, her smile slowly fading as she tilted her head and raised an eyebrow in his direction. "...should I?"

It didn't make any sense. No matter how many times he went over it in his head, no matter how many different ways he thought about it, he still couldn't understand it. But still, here she was, standing right in front of him.

Or was she? It was hard to tell. It seemed as if she had absolutely no recollection of who she even was, otherwise she wouldn't have asked in the first place. And the way she was looking at him right now, the complete confusion and slight discomfort on her face– she wasn't pretending, or making that up. She genuinely had no memory of him or herself.

And sure, she looked exactly as Sasuke remembered her, but how could he be sure that it was her? And if this was real, if Minxie was actually standing in front of him right now, why didn't she know that? Why couldn't she recognize him? Why couldn't she recognize herself? Just what the hell was going on here?

"Hey, are you all right?" The sound of her voice snapped him out of his thoughts. She was staring at him now, the confusion on her face transforming into concern. "Is there something wrong? You look a little pale–"

She reached out to him, placing a gentle hand on his forearm. He practically jolted when her hand made contact with his skin, rising from his seat so abruptly that a few of the glasses on the bar-counter shook. The disturbance drew the attention of a few of the restaurant's surrounding patrons, but Sasuke's focus was only on the brunette behind the counter. She blinked, taken aback by his sudden movement, and slowly let the hand she'd reached out to him fall back to her side.

"Sorry!" she was quick to apologize, appearing genuinely upset with herself as she bit her lip in embarrassment. "I didn't mean to startle you or anything like that, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Do you need anything? Maybe a glass of water, I can get it for you–"

"I'm fine," he interrupted, every single part of him screaming that no, he wasn't, and neither was any part of his situation. He needed to figure out what the hell was going on, but he couldn't do that here, not with a bunch of nosey customers watching him and definitely not with the girl who had died in his arms standing directly across from him. He needed to get away, to think. He needed to breathe. "I just– I have to go."