This time, he truly is a corpse.

The bright fire is finally banked, the cunning mind mysteriously silent, the fighting spirit finally destroyed. I look down at him, and try to remember Zoisite as I first saw him, weeping into my arms and calling my name in tearful, trusting whispers. It is odd, that in the end, he was very much the same.

Knowing him and his perversity against authority, it probably pleases him to no end. I know it does me. The old Zoisite, the one before the Turning, had been so very strong. That never changed, not once, not even during the dark time when I was his only tormentor.

It pains me, to think of those times. To think that once I played cruel games with my Sakura, that I treated him so very harshly. But he forgave me, and that is enough. Every time he smiled at me, his eyes so very open no matter what technique he tried to hide behind, I saw the love in his eyes.

Perhaps his death is my fault. After all, near the end he had become reckless with his affections towards me, and I allowed it... even loved him for it. He had spurned convention by teasing me aloud, by sitting in my lap before all and sundry, by pouting and getting his way with me whenever he so desired. I never could let down my guard as far as could he; in that he surpassed me easily. He was never afraid of showing me what he felt... not even in the beginning, when he hated me and swore to kill me.

I smile briefly. Sometimes, the nerve of that man was truly astounding.

But now he's gone, and I am alone. I'll survive, I know I will, but it will be only that. Survival. Survival and duty. There will be no 'me' left, no character, no spirit named Kunzite... he took those parts with him when he left. It only remains to see what happens when the shell of my body joins with the things that were truly important.

I know he's waiting for me. Even without his final words, his uncertain and so formal declaration of love, I know that much. Someone who so successfully resisted the Turning would find death to be no more than child's play. For he did resist the Darkness, in the end. He was never truly Beryl's.

He was always mine.

He never knew it, and I never told him where his geas came from. I never told him that he placed it there himself; that it wasn't magic at all but merely pure determination from his old self. He had loved me so much, even in the beginning, that even in the depths of his forgetfulness, he had remembered one thing: Protect Kunzite at all costs.

Zoisite, General Zoisite, from so long ago... I wish I could tell you. You were never defeated. You embodied your wish to the very end, you remained strong through it all. Fourth King Zoisite was all you could have hoped for and more. I know that I, at least, will always be proud of him.

I wonder if when I see you, I'll see the General or the King. I only really remember the King, and he was more than enough for me. He was love embodied... I wonder what he was like when he was also nobility, loyalty, honor, and truth. For I know that in the beginning, he was all these things. I saw it briefly in the General... and only such a person could have survived the Dark as he did. With so much light.

It will be an adventure, the next time we meet. We'll both be different. I'll finally be able to remember who I was... and why I was worthy of such unending devotion. Maybe, just maybe, I was something special too... perhaps even I had nobility and honor... and maybe I'll finally be able to repay you for all you have given me.

I look forward to finding out. Thank you for that hope, my love.

You see, I finally understand. I finally understand the sacrifice you made for me, the sacrifice to follow me into the Dark. You could have been happy, you know, living without me. You could have been like Endymion and the Senshi, and been redeemed. You could have had a fresh start...

But no.

It's logical, really. For long ago, you told me, "I won't ever leave you alone." I had taken it for a threat.

Now, at last, I know better.