Chapter Two
"Honoured Emperor."
The knight bowed low before the throne, sweeping his arm across in an overly elaborate gesture as he did so, then raising his gaze to the older man who sat, pensive and troubled, on the wooden throne before him.
"Arise, Tessei." He said softly, and the knight lifted his head, eyes glittering with malicious anticipation as he did so.
"What news do you bring of my Lord Grandson?"
Shigure's question was weary, as though it had been asked many times before, and a slight smirk touched Tessei's lips as he rose carefully to his feet, his deference to his emperor only thinly cloaking his own derision at the situation the royal family found themselves in.
"I do bring news, my lord." He said, in his soft, velvety tones. "A patrol has tracked the emissions of the Funaho-fune heading north-west, beyond the planet Yubisu. The report is as you anticipated - Yosho is indeed in the company of Lady Haruna, although communication channels have not yet been established between our ships and theirs. They pursue him, but have not intervened. What would my Lord Emperor have done?"
Shigure sighed, glancing at his wisened hands as he pondered the question. Then he shook his head.
"Yosho must be returned to Jurai at all costs." He said quietly. "Tessei, you have my will in this matter. Order the military units to intercept Funaho-fune and bring her back by force, if that's what is necessary. Yosho-dono has responsibilities here on Jurai and I will not allow him to treat them so casually. Lady Haruna is young and easily swayed by the slick words of a Prince - but should we bring them back soon, we may be able to do so before any real damage is done to the royal bloodline. Haruna understands the stigma of illegitimacy better than any other member of our court - and she is unlikely to give herself to him until they have had chance to marry. This being the case..."
"Yes, my Lord." Tessei bowed once more. "I will convey your wishes to the Admiral at once."
The knight withdrew, and Shigure got to his feet, moving slowly across the throne room towards the door that led to the Gallery. Although he was an old man now, he was still surprisingly light on his feet, the rheums and stiffness of age having bypassed him for the time being. He was still ready to lead his troops into space should anyone threaten the security of his world, but at that moment, he felt like the oldest man in the universe.
"Yosho." He sighed, pushing open the door and stepping into the high-ceilinged Gallery, where pictures of all of Jurai's great from past and present hung side by side along the walls. "Even if I do bring you forcibly back to Jurai, can I repair the damage already done to you and to our family's reputation? The whole planet is talking about your sudden disappearance, and with good reason, too. A Prince loved among many is bound to be missed...yes, we must bring you back. But Lady Haruna is not a woman for an heir to the throne to wed. You must give up this silliness, and do it for Jurai's sake."
He ran his fingers along the edges of the paintings, pausing at the end as he approached the one that was most dear to him. She was young still on canvas, he mused wistfully, taking in her vivid expression and the thick, luxurious waves of hair that he had loved so much. If he concentrated hard enough, he was sure he could still hear her vibrant, pretty laughter and the way in which she would tease him, mocking his ceremony but always standing by him whenever there was a difficult matter to face.
"Seto." He murmured, placing a gentle finger to the edge of the frame. "Yes, Yosho, I understand what it is to love, and more, what it is to lose that love. But for Jurai, all sacrifices must be borne and borne well. We are the people's men, not our own...our duty overrides everything else we do. I must make you understand that, when Funaho-fune is brought into dock. I must make you Prince of Jurai once more...or let the succession fall into the half-blood hands of my nephew's illegitimate daughter and her progeny. Jurai's royal tree is too precious...I must remain firm and make him see his errors. Or what becomes of our dynasty then, if even a housekeeper's daughter can sit on the throne as Queen of Jurai?"
He cast a final, lingering look at the portrait, meeting the light-flecked, laughing eyes of the woman he had loved so many years ago. Then he turned, making his way slowly back towards the throne room and his royal responsibilities.
"Are you living in the past again, Father?" The voice of his eldest son startled him as he did so and he raised his gaze, offering the man a tired smile.
"I'm afraid I have more past to live in than I do future, some days." He admitted wearily. "Azusa, I've had word about Yosho. His ship has been traced...and I've given the order that he's to be brought back to Jurai."
"By force?" Azusa's eyes opened wide with surprise. "But..."
"I know. We said we wanted to negotiate and avoid force if necessary." Shigure held up his hands. "But Yosho is as headstrong a boy as you are, my son, and if it's the only way to bring him back here...well, Jurai must have their prince. After all, without him, the succession falls down. We both know Lady Funaho is unlikely to bear more children, after all. She's never been strong since Yosho was born, and she's not as young as she was then."
"That's true." Azusa looked troubled. "But I think it will be harder than that to convince Yosho to give up Haruna. I've tried speaking to him, Father. Punishing him, restricting him - even assigning him work on the colonies to distract him from her charms. He seems besotted. And she's a pretty, charming young lady, with everything to recommend her."
"Except a bloodline that suits the throne of Jurai." Shigure rubbed his temples. "Which is my concern at the moment. You were never so much trouble when I arranged for you to marry Funaho. In fact, you even helped things by falling in love with her the first time you were introduced. I wish your son would be so complying. I really don't know what to do. We can get him back here, but keeping control of him and his actions might be difficult. Sweet as Haruna might be, their marriage is an impossibility. I can't imagine the repercussions for Jurai."
"I'm afraid Yosho might choose to abandon the throne completely." Azusa admitted, and the old king shook his head.
"That's not something we can allow to happen." He said softly. "After I am gone, you will be King. And after you, Yosho will be crowned. He must follow in your stead, just as you follow in mine, Azusa. We both know it - there is no other choice. You have no other children."
Azusa was silent for a moment, then he raised dark red eyes to his father's burgundy ones.
"But I have a nephew." He pointed out hesitantly. "And there is always the chance Lady Misaki may yet produce an heir. She is younger than Funaho, and stronger, too...there's no reason why she and Haru shouldn't yet have children. All is not lost, Father. Yosho may yet be brought to book, but if not..."
"Your line inherits my throne on my passing. Not Haru's and not Aiko's." Shigure said sharply. "As if your brother hasn't confounded me enough by failing in his duty as a prince! Haru has no Jurai power and nor does Aiko. They are therefore debarred from the succession - weak, failed offspring whose progeny can't possibly be of any use to Jurai. Misaki may be young still, but what chance has she of spawning a baby with Jurai's power when her husband is so unable to wield it? Misaki's own royal connections may be undisputed, but they are distant blood. The odds are slim indeed!"
"I've often thought about this." Azusa admitted slowly. "The seers are never mistaken in their prediction of Jurai power. Perhaps my brother does have it - he just hasn't woken it inside of him yet."
"There's always a first time." Shigure said bitterly. "No, my son. The seers may have predicted it, but their early birth and your Lady Mother's untimely death saw to any chance Haru had of being a true Prince of Jurai. And we must deal with the consequences just as surely. Your son must, indeed, be brought into line. He is Jurai's future hope, he has the Jurai power I bequeathed to you and he will be Jurai's Emperor one day. He just must understand that this isn't a game and he has to grow up and face his destiny like a man."
Azusa was silent for a moment. Then he glanced up, a thoughtful look in his expression.
"And if he does not?" He asked hesitantly. "Father, what if the seers were not mistaken when they predicted the Jurai power? What if they merely allowed tradition to overstep their accuracy, and predicted it in the wrong baby?"
Shigure eyed his companion sharply.
"Speak plainly! What do you mean?"
"What if it's my sister Aiko who inherited it, and not my brother Haru?"
"Lady Aiko? Impossible." Shigure's expression darkened. "If I thought that the succession rested on her and her adverse behaviours, I would have her exiled in a heartbeat. To suggest she has the Jurai power is incomprehensible."
"Aiko is a free spirit, and always has been." Azusa acknowledged. "But she does have a son, Father. Prince Kagato and my own boy have grown up together and he's as good as soldier as Yosho, even if he lacks finesse. What's more, I've seen signs of the Jurai power in him."
Shigure's eyes narrowed.
"Your sister married her late husband and within eight months gave birth to Prince Kagato." He said grimly. "A boy whose eyes are golden, not the red of the royal line. Oh, I have no proof." As Azusa looked startled. "But considering how many times I tried to convince Aiko to accept a suitor - she seemed so disinterested in her husband, and yet she produced an heir for him right away? I have my doubts, my son. I would never say such things at court - the honour of my family is too great for me to do so. But even if he is your nephew and my grandson, he has no claim to Jurai's throne so long as I have a say in things."
"Are you serious?" Azusa stared. "Father, I know Aiko can be wild and I know she had many men after her hand before you arranged her marriage to the late Lord Hotaru. But seriously...do you think she would dishonour her family tree in such a way? When she's so high profile, and could bring down so many people with her?"
"I believe your sister hasn't even given it a second thought." Shigure said tiredly. "Whether Kagato is Hotaru's son or not is still a matter of fierce debate in my mind. All I know is that Aiko has Lady Seto's eyes, and Hotaru's eyes were black as charcoal. Prince Kagato's eyes are gold - unlike any other prince, dead or alive, that graces the Royal Tree. You can see why it troubles me."
"I still think you slight my sister, Father." Azusa shook his head.
"Well, if Yosho is safely returned, it may not matter." Shigure managed a faint smile. "And there is you, between now and the chaos of the future. I know I can rely on you, my son, even if I can't rely on anyone else around me. You have always made me proud and these days, you are my only comfort."
Azusa smiled.
"I will speak to my son myself. His behaviour has upset his mother quite a lot." He said at length. "With any luck, between us we'll impress on him the importance of Jurai's royal legacy."
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"And so, to summarise, the psychological impact of a ship like the Phoenix could, potentially, create wide-ranging long term problems for the pilot and for the craft's own structural stability."
Washu gazed earnestly up at the expressionless faces of the panel as she gave her report, offering them a bright smile as she concluded her findings. "It poses a significant risk to all and sundry."
"Thank you, Professor Washu." The most senior of the Academy elders got to his feet, acknowledging her with a bow of his head. "We have studied this report of yours in some detail. Clearly there are potential side effects to a craft which has resurrectional capabilities. Professor Menori, do you have anything to add to Professor Hakubi's concerns?"
From across the far side of the chamber, a tall, striking man got to his feet, greying hair braided back from his face in a peculiar style and grey eyes glinting with annoyance and indignation.
"Yes, honoured Elder." He said flatly. "My team and I have worked through several hypotheses regarding the Phoenix and the capabilities it possessed. We have spent a good deal of time testing and re-testing the structural soundness of the regenerative process and we have not found any flaws in the system. Also, the advent of Professor Hakubi's report is conveniently timed, considering that it is widely known around the Academy that she has begun work on her own form of interstellar transport...and clearly sees my Phoenix as commercial competition for whatever craft she seeks to design."
"If everyone thought along the same lines as you, Menori-sensei, the universe would be bleak indeed." Washu said acidly. "And if you check your records, I think you'll find that this report was submitted directly to you some months ago - before I began work on my own organic projects. Since you seem so fully aware of my team's work, you'll know that my developments are in the earliest stages and that I've not even applied for the necessary clearances to proceed with the most delicate part of my experimentation yet. Your accusation falls flat."
"I know a good deal about you and your work, Professor." Menori smiled at her nastily. "Including your attempts to better your department and gain additional funding by seducing a member of a Seniwan daimyo family. The Elders should know how you play your games to get the best possible position and finance. This report is just another attempt to slur my good name and to undermine my hard work in order to better promote her own."
"Silence, Professor Menori." The elder raised his hand gravely, and Washu, who had been on the verge of a retort, forced herself to bite her tongue. Rage burned in her green eyes, however, and she turned to the panel, bowing her head.
"Honoured Elders, whatever remarks Professor Menori has to make about my work and my business, this hearing is not on a personal level." She said quietly. "I have grave concerns which I attempted to raise with his department and with your own good selves some months ago. Sadly, somehow my report appears to have become mislaid then...which is why I re-submitted it via one of my alumni. I feel that the psychological risks of a ship like the Phoenix are too great to be allowed into commercial service. The exponential increase in mental activity will, eventually, cause the pilot's brain to merge completely with the ship's computer, an unnatural state of affairs which allows warping and degeneration on both sides. In short, it will cause madness, Honoured Elders. Madness of an incurable, immortal kind. The Galaxy Police already spend a good deal of money hunting and chasing down pirates and lawbreakers. The impact of the Phoenix could be enough to turn the most mild mannered individual into another entry on the Universe's most wanted. In all good conscience, and despite Professor Menori's hard work, I don't feel that such liberties should be taken with people's sanity."
"Thank you, Professor." The Elder spoke quietly. "Your concerns have duly been noted. Professor Menori, we demand more rigorous testing before we consider the Phoenix ship for commercial patent. You have a copy of Professor Hakubi's report, and the issues she raises must be resolved to our satisfaction before this process can go any further."
"But..." Menori's eyes widened with disbelief, and Washu offered him a winning smile, eyes glittering with cold triumph as she did so. The Elder raised his hand, shaking his head.
"If the ship is as safe as you have argued, this should be a little matter of logistics and paperwork." He said simply. "We will convene again in a month's time, when you will submit new evidence to our panel on the safety of the Phoenix ship. Professor Hakubi, you are dismissed. Your report has been archived for future reference."
"Thank you, Honoured Elders." Washu made a formal bow, then withdrew from the chamber, a slight smile touching her lips as she hurried down the hallways towards her own departmental laboratories.
"That will teach Menori to sit on my report." She muttered, a malicious glint in her eyes as she flashed her security pass through the various checkpoints, ignored by the guard droids on duty as red lights flickered to green. "And even more, to discuss my private affairs in front of the Elders. Now I'm certain that Clay is a spy - and that he's a spy for Menori. No wonder my report disappeared. How else could the man know that my work was diversifying into organic mechanics and interstellar design? None of my department have loose lips. But he seems so much at odds with my work. I wonder. Perhaps it is time I refined that substance of Mikamo's into something more applicable."
She sighed.
"After all, I suppose the man has to be some use to me, in the long run." She acknowledged bitterly. "Since obviously the only thing I have to focus on is my work, I might as well make him just another archived report in my mountain of digital paperwork. Besides, he's already made me lose my focus enough. I would have known that report didn't get through and I would have been more aware of Menori's progress if I hadn't been dreaming and mooning after a man that, quite obviously, I'm never going to have. Pull yourself together, Washu. This is your vocation and your life. You got distracted for a while, that's all. But no more. You have work to do and it's time you got down to it!"
She reached the end of the hallway, sliding her pass into the door lock and keying in her combination as the shining steel door swung back with a hiss. Removing her pass, she stepped into her private laboratory, gazing around at it for a moment with a sad smile. Every unit was covered in papers or disks or some kind of mechanical junk, and even the corners contained boxes and units that whirred and clicked as she approached them. She set her pass down on the unit, rummaging around in one of the boxes for the things she needed. Then, carefully, she extracted the purified samples of the substance from their suspended animation, glancing at them, then shrugging her shoulders.
"Truth serum indeed." She muttered, amusement sparkling in her eyes. "We'll see who you've been working for, Dr Clay, and what other secrets of mine you might have revealed to Menori. Or others, for that matter. In the pay of one, potentially in the pay of many. Do you really resent me getting this position so much, that you'll do everything in your power to undermine me? I shouldn't be surprised - pettiness always has been a mark of your character. But that you were denied the professorial robe and your own departmental headship must have hurt your pride badly. Unfortunately, I suppose you don't realise that those of us who have honours earnt them with our hard work, not through those who paid us to spy for them."
She hummed an upbeat tune under her breath, gripping the samples tightly as she approached the furthermost wall of her lab. Pausing for a moment, she closed her eyes, focusing all her energy on seperating her particles as she pushed through the thick steel wall into the room beyond. Although this chamber held no doors and had no windows out into space, it was bright and airy and, unlike the laboratory beyond, impeccably neat and tidy. Glass fronted units flanked one wall and opposite whirred a large computer system, which Washu glanced at lovingly before she set her samples down before the analysis cages, brushing imaginary specks of dust from her hands as she did so.
"No matter how clever he is, he doesn't know about this place." She murmured, amused. "Menori would kill to know that my organic technology is a lot further along than he thinks. This computer system still needs work, and tweaking around the edges - but it's already the most competent and detailed computer system at the Academy and it makes the central computer look like a child's learning toy. It's only a short step from this to the next stage...but if I really am going to be as ambitious as all that, I'll need the bother of paperwork and authorisation. And I want to know my theories pan out before I start going through the red tape and applying for permission to test live genetic samples."
She glanced at her hands with a smile.
"But Menori and Clay don't know I can walk through walls, and don't even realise there is a lab beyond my lab." She said at length. "Even Mikamo didn't know about this chamber - and in light of recent events, I can't say I'm not glad. Every scientist needs her sanctuary, after all. And if I am going to flount Academy rules left, right and centre, it's better I do it where nobody in higher authority can see me. After all, having just spoken up on Menori's disaster of a ship, I don't think they'd be very pleased if they knew I was developing interrogation fluids without the right documentation. Or, for that matter, that I'm already splicing genetic samples and forcing them to mutate without having all the relevant paperwork signed and stamped. You can't stop progress, Menori. You just have to be more discreet about how you do it."
She flicked a switch on her computer, watching as the lights and panels glowed beneath her touch. Then, carefully, she extracted one of the sterile samples of Mikamo's substance, feeding it into the machine's filter as she waited for an analysis report. Glancing at the digits on the screen, she gave an approving smile, nodding her head.
"That will do very nicely, with a hint of lithium carbonate and a few other choice elements." She murmured. "This stuff really is powerful - I suppose I'll need to dilute it down, or it will be more than truth Clay will be spewing. I don't want to make anyone suspicious...not yet. It's a potent hallucinogen, and I'm not in the business of making my colleagues go crazy."
She keyed in a few more numbers, then ferretted around in her cabinet for the right chemicals, adding them slowly one by one to the process as the computer system whirred and buzzed. "Who knows? Maybe Menori would like a dose of it too. Then he could tell the Elders exactly what was wrong with his Phoenix ship and why they should all be destroyed before they come into contact with unsuspecting buyers. After all, regardless of my own interests, those crafts are dangerous and they should never be allowed out of the Academy test hanger. That being the case, it's almost my duty to drug him and force him to confess. And, if I get a decent test report for my own studies in the meantime, why not?"
She narrowed her eyes, sprinkling a final powder into the compound as she instructed the computer to process the mixture. "And it will teach him for daring to bring Mikamo up before the Elders. Mikamo Niwase is no business of anyone but mine, and I don't take kindly to people meddling in my affairs! With all likelihood, one or both of them were involved in bringing Mikamo's cursed family into the equation, anyway. I thought it odd that they decided to pay a sudden visit to him here, when they've never been overly interested in his scientific research. Well, I'll soon know everything I need to know, thanks to this goop of his. I bet you didn't realise it, Mikamo, but your samples are going to make life more than a little bit uncomfortable for a few people in your absence!"
She entered the final combination, then nodded her head in satisfaction, stepping back from the machine as she did so.
"It will take a few hours to process fully." She mused. "And I'll do better leaving it to do it's business. After all, Manami and Kichi will wonder where I've got to, once again. And loyal as they both are, I'm sure that it wouldn't do either of their records any good if they were to be actively involved in such under-the-radar activities."
Casting it a last look, she turned her back on her work, pushing through the silver steel wall once more as she stepped into the main laboratory.
"Professor?"
The stunned voice of her student startled her out of her musing and she jumped, turning to face Kichi, an incredulous expression on the petite woman's face. For a moment, the girl just stared, and Washu's expression went from confusion to alarm as she realised what her companion must have witnessed.
"Kichi, what are you doing here?" She asked mildly, casually unfastening her formal cloak from around her shoulders and returning it to its peg as she affected the most nonchalant air she could muster. "This laboratory is supposed to be off limits to students without specific clearance, and you've been here twice in the space of twenty four hours."
"Washu-sensei..." Kichi took a step backwards, disbelief in in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean...I just thought you should know that..."
She faltered, swallowing hard.
"What are you?" She whispered. "And how did you do such a thing? In all my study of magic, I've never seen..."
She trailed off again, and Washu sighed, shaking her head.
"There are reasons why people have private laboratories." She said quietly, no reproach in her tones. "Now you've discovered what those reasons are. What did you come to tell me, Kichi? What should I know?"
"The Council has sent down your paperwork to be signed and passed on to clearance, for the genetic testing you want to begin." Kichi gathered her composure, eying her mentor warily. "I thought you'd still be with the Panel, but when I went there Professor Menori was just leaving and I gathered you'd already gone on ahead of him. He looked black as thunder, so I assumed that your report was read this time."
"Yes...Menori has a month to prove that my assertions are unsound." Washu nodded. "Which he can't do, of course, because they're not unsound. That's good news, Kichi. I'll come and sign those right away. If we're to get our own particular brand of space transport into operation, then we have a lot of work to do."
Kichi bit her lip, gazing at her companion in troubled silence, and Washu read her expression, shaking her head slowly.
"Oh, Kichi." She said sadly. "Did noone ever tell you that Pandora's box is a dangerous thing to open?"
"People don't walk through walls." At length Kichi found her composure, fixing the scientist with an accusing look. "You know that I did my post-graduate thesis on the applications of energy and mystical forces, and that what I'm doing for my doctorate is much along the same lines. In all the testing and all the research I've ever done, I've never come across anyone who could do...what I just saw you do."
"But impressions can be deceiving." Washu shrugged her shoulders, rummaging across her desk for the files she wanted. "Eyes can play tricks and you are working very hard. Kichi, maybe you shouldn't dwell on things that really don't matter...you have more than enough work to do if you intend to continue working in my department and under my guidance. After all, it isn't just your doctorate you have to focus on. If you want funding for your magic testing to continue, you have to earn your keep as one of my aides and I'm really not ready or willing to release one of the best students I've ever had on account of her hallucinations."
She paused, eying the younger woman carefully for a moment, then,
"Perhaps you spent too much time working with Mikamo's noxious substance yesterday." She added. "I should take a look at you - make sure you didn't suffer any adverse effects."
"Professor." Kichi's expression became one of exasperation, and Washu knew that her bluff had failed. "If I'm that good a student, you'll know that I don't imagine things. I'm not given to flights of fancy - I never have been. This place is my home and my world as much as it is yours, and I thought that we were friends. That you trusted me. I've always trusted you. You know everything there is to know about me, Washu-sensei - that my biology should have condemned me to death, that I study magic because it's the only thing that's kept me alive and that my family have never been rich enough to pay the stipend the Academy usually demands for a doctorate. You took me on anyway, regardless of that and I've trusted you since the start. Could you do me the same favour, and trust me?"
Washu's lips thinned, and for a moment there was silence between them. Then, at length, she laughed.
"I should know better than try to fool someone I've nurtured and taught." She said resignedly. "But I'm afraid you might be shocked and repelled if I answer your question. Most people are, when they find out - and I don't want to destroy your faith in my ability. That would do neither one of us any good - and I've faced enough prejudice over time to know that some things are better off not discussed in polite society."
"I'm curious, now." Kichi approached her tutor slowly, eying her carefully as she did so. "Why would you imagine my opinion of you would change? You're one of the most brilliant and visionary scientists in the Academy...and they put a lot of faith in you, also."
"Yes, and it's taken long enough to establish myself and prove I'm worth their time and interest." Washu said bitterly. "Many more years than you can imagine, just to get taken seriously."
"Then what are you?" Kichi looked quizzical. "And why would it even matter?"
Washu bit her lip.
"I'm a Kii." She said simply. Kichi's eyes opened wide with surprise.
"That's not possible." She said frankly. "I've studied the Kii, Professor. I know the planet died out a long time ago. We're talking centuries. Maybe even milennia. The last Priestess went crazy and slaughtered her people - I've read account after account in the Juraian annals in the Academy library and I visited there...took soil and air samples. It's a dead world, and noone lives there now. It couldn't support life...the terrain is black, hostile and full of death."
"True enough." Washu agreed, taking her companion gently by the arm, leading her across the laboratory to the small door that led through to her private living quarters and indicating for her to sit down. "But it's what I am all the same. I said it had taken me many years, Kichi."
Kichi stared at her for a moment, then shook her head, taking the indicated seat as she did so.
"You're one of the youngest professors on roll." She said, bemused. "You're only four or five years older than I am, Washu-sensei. Aren't you?"
"I've been twenty five for a very long time." Washu smiled, amused by the reaction in her companion's clever eyes. "How long isn't exactly important."
"All right." Kichi frowned. "If that's true...and even if you are so old as that...how did you walk through the wall? And come to think of it, how did you leave the Academy yesterday without comandeering one of the crafts? None of them were signed out. You're supposed to declare magic when you come into the Academy - is it all in your file that you can do these things?"
"No, none of it is. And I'd rather none of it was." Washu looked thoughtful. "I'm a Kii, Kichi, and as you've studied the Kii, you'll know that ordinary Kii folk don't have much magic of their own. A gift of sight, perhaps - the ability to unnerve travellers by reading their souls and seeing their true nature. But nothing else. And certainly nothing like what you're suggesting. If you don't mind, I'd rather we kept that between us. At least for now."
Excitement flickered in the student's dark eyes and she grasped at her companion's wrists, gazing up at her eagerly.
"I did read one paper." She said softly. "About the Priestess of Kihaku and the fact she came from a long family. And that Kihaku had many strange magics that the settlers from Jurai didn't understand. They were wielded by this Priestess, and they feared her because they thought she was some kind of demon, possessed by her world."
"This is a story I've been forced to listen to enough times." Washu agreed. "What of it?"
"If you're Kii, and you have magic, you must have been some kind of descendant or relative of that Priestess. One of the same tribe." Kichi said slowly. "I didn't do a lot of reading into it - I wasn't able to decipher the old Kii records, because noone seemed able to read or translate the language they were recorded in. It's thought that it's a dead tongue - unique to the planet's spiritual tribe - and so I had to leave it alone. It's so complicated, with it's symbols and iconography. I didn't know where to begin. But if you're some relation to the last Priestess and her family, you must be able to read the Kii symbols. And if you can, then...then..."
She hesitated, and Washu glanced down at her, a soft smile touching her lips.
"Then maybe I can translate for you the things you want to know?" She asked gently. Kichi looked sheepish.
"Yes." She acknowledged ruefully. "I'm sorry...but it just occured to me. Kihaku has always been such a mystery to me, really. I've been dying to find out more about it from the native perspective, but it seemed impossible. Are you really telling me the truth, Professor? Are you really a Kii, and can you read their language?"
"Read it, speak it, dream it sometimes." Washu agreed. "Among others. The Kii had many languages, Kichi, and I had a conscientious father and a keen brain - I think I learnt them all, when I was still a girl. So your answer is yes. I would be able to read any surviving Kii records."
"Then you are a descendant of that family?"
"I suppose you could say so. In a manner of speaking." Washu eyed her hands absently. "But it's not a connection I speak of. You must know how people view the Kii - demonic, savage people with no natural intelligence or comprehension of scientific principles. If they knew I had devil magic running through me as well, they'd never want to hear another thing I had to say. It's taken me this long to be accepted and respected for my work and my dedication, regardless of my history. I won't have all of that destroyed. So I don't declare my magic - and really, I barely use it."
"Except to walk through the back wall of your lab." Kichi's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "But you wouldn't do that, would you, if it was really the outer wall and there was nothing but walkway and space beyond? There's something else there...and that's another reason you haven't declared your magic. You have secrets even within the Academy walls. I think there's another lab beyond your main one, and I think that, when we can't find you, that's sometimes where you are. Working on...whatever you're working on. In secret. Without the Academy's knowledge."
"You are too sharp for your own good sometimes, Kichi Itokawa." Washu said ruefully. Kichi grinned.
"Then I'm right."
"If I don't answer that question, you can't be accused of complicity." Washu said composedly. "So if you don't mind, I'm not going to comment."
"All right. If that's how you feel." Kichi shrugged her shoulders. "But will you help me, Professor? I won't betray your secrets - I owe you far too much for that, and we both know it. Besides, I like you, and Kii or not, we are friends. I respect you more than anyone at the Academy, and whatever your origins, you're smarter than most of the people here. So whatever people say about the Kii, it's a lot of rubbish. But I would like to read the ancient texts and learn more about Kii magic. Who knows? Maybe I can change popular perception, if I can find something in their words that would balance out the traditional view."
"Maybe." Washu acknowledged.
"Only maybe?" Kichi looked disappointed. "Don't you want to clear your planet's name?"
"My planet was destroyed by the madness of an individual." Washu said quietly. "Driven mad, sure enough, and against her will. But she was mad and she did kill the people there - settler and native alike. There's not much that can be done to vindicate such a charge...and the more it's in public minds, the more people will remember Kihaku as a world of slaughter and death."
"I promise I won't take that angle."
"But if it's the true one, you haven't much choice."
"I do." Kichi said stubbornly. "I can study the magic without the later events. I want to know about their ritual and the way in which the Priests and Priestesses controlled and governed the World. It fascinates me, how people and planets become linked by magic. Please, Washu-sensei? Can't you trust me to treat it with sensitivity and care?"
"I trust you." Washu agreed heavily. "All right. But if I do so, you must promise me something in return. The Academy believe I don't speak Kii...not the ancient holy language that all the scriptures and records were inscribed in. And I'd rather they didn't change their view. If they did, they'd start making connections between me and the Priest's tribe. And considering Tokimi-sama's rampage, I'd rather they didn't dig too deeply."
"Did you know her, Washu-sensei?" Kichi asked gently. Washu sighed, nodding.
"A long time ago, when we were both different people." She agreed. "But this is getting us nowhere. I have papers to sign and pass along before we can go any further, and I have to review Manami's preliminary observations, as well. Put this out of your mind for the time being, Kichi-san. We have other work to do that's far more pressing than the death of my homeworld."
