Chapter Eleven
First light.
Washu gazed up at the sky, watching with troubled green eyes as the first rays of the sun began to glitter over the horizon, bringing light to the landscape. Though she had been unable to sleep for fear of their hiding place being discovered, they had not been disturbed in the four or five hours they had sheltered there, and as she had thought things over, Washu realised that the meaning was clear.
"Either she thinks she's dispensed with us, because of the chamber collapsing." She muttered. "Or she hopes that we'll make another attempt and she'll be able to lure us into her web. But right now, I can't focus on that. I'm more concerned by Tokimi - and whether or not she really could be on this wretched world. I never thought that I'd get so many people involved in trouble - but I guess I underestimated Tenchi and Ryoko. Someone did come to help me, after all - and Tenchi can't fly that ship on his own, which means they must both be here. Maybe I should have more faith in the people I call family - and yet, if I've put them at risk...if I've put Tokimi at risk somehow by being here..."
She sighed, pulling herself to her feet as she paused to glance at her sleeping companions. Shouhei's uniform was still scorched and stained with blood, but he slept evenly and quietly, and Washu was comforted by the colour in his cheeks.
"He'll be all right, so long as we live through this." She murmured. "Thank Goodness. I'm getting soft in my old age, but I couldn't have sacrificed his life for mine."
"Washu-sama?" At the sound of her voice, Mayuka stirred, blinking and rubbing her eyes as she struggled to regain a sense of her surroundings. "Where...?"
"Still in the palace grounds." Washu said softly, coming to sit at her companion's side. "Tadashi and Shouhei are still sleeping, so keep the volume down. This morning we have a lot to do, and they should rest while they can."
"Noone has come after us?" Mayuka sounded surprised, and Washu shook her head.
"I think that this is part of Yuzuha's plan." She said quietly. "If she doesn't believe we were crushed by falling stone - and I don't think she's that naive, to be honest with you - she expects us to make another attempt on her and her position here. So she's sitting back and letting us do it - because she's fairly confident she can kill us all, if we step too far into her territory. It's a game of cat and mouse, that's all. She's waiting for us to become mice."
"Mice bite." Mayuka said darkly. "She might find that out before today is out."
She stretched, stifling a yawn.
"Is your magic recovered?" She asked anxiously. "After last night - can you take her on, now?"
"I hope so." Washu nodded her head, glancing down at the bracelets that still encircled her wrists. They glowed and shimmered at her attention, as if they understood her thoughts, and she frowned.
"These things make me feel so strange." She murmured. "So involved in everything, emotionally and physically. I never felt that way before - but I'm starting to understand why saving and protecting the World became everything to both my father and my sister. The power of this rock is strong...very strong. Even though this is just a small fragment of Kihaku's core, it changes how I feel about everything. To be bonded to it fully...no wonder Kihaku had the influence it did. For the first time ever, I understand my father in a way I never ever did while he was alive. And I'm sorry for it. If I'd known this then, maybe we wouldn't have parted in the way we did. If I'd have understood exactly what it was that drove him..."
She faltered, shaking her head as she registered Mayuka's confused expression.
"Never mind. It was too long ago, and it doesn't matter."
"What about Tokimi-sama? Are we going to go and see if Yuzuha was right?" Mayuka settled herself more comfortably beneath the tree. "Because traitors are executed at dawn. As soon as the sun is high in the sky...we don't have much time."
"No, we don't, and yes, we are. Or at least, I am." Washu nodded. "I want you to stay behind here, with Tadashi and Shouhei. Hide as best you can. If Yuzuha is setting a trap, I'd rather I fell into it on my own this time. Shouhei almost died once...and you and Tadashi could both have been crushed by that falling stone. If I can prevent you entering the firing line again, I will."
"It seems cowardly, to let you go alone." Mayuka frowned. Washu shrugged.
"Believe me, I've fought more battles alone than you'd care to know." She said glibly. "It will just be another for the record book. That's all."
"Now that sounds like the mother I know and annoy."
A fresh voice interrupted their conversation at that moment, and Mayuka let out a gasp, shuffling back against the tree's trunk as two figures hazed into view before them, setting down on the grass as a small, fluff-eared cabbit leapt down onto the ground with a yowl of pleasure, rubbing affectionately up against Washu's ankles.
"You have some serious explaining to do, Washu - and I mean serious explaining."
"Ryoko?" Washu's eyes widened with surprise. "Tenchi! Ryo-Ohki! But how did you find me?"
"I have no idea, and it doesn't really matter." Ryoko crossed the grass, grabbing her mother by the shoulders and shaking her briskly. "What the hell are you playing at, sight-seeing on strange rocks and putting my spaceship in danger? Have you any idea how hard it's been to track you down?"
"Ryoko was worried about you. Well, we all were." Tenchi glanced around him. "But I guess we should have known better - you seem to be fine."
"Relative term." Washu frowned, shaking her head. "It's not so simple as that."
"Washu-sama, who are these people?" Mayuka asked faintly. "What language is that? You know them...are they...from Jurai?"
"I didn't understand the gibberish, but I swear she just called you...Washu-sama?" Ryoko raised an eyebrow, and Washu flushed red, looking discomfitted as for the first time her daughter took in her attire. "Yeesh, what the hell? We can't leave you alone for a moment, can we! What is this, some kind of tribal fashion statement? What the Hell are you trying to be?"
"Step away from the Priestess!"
Shouhei's voice interrupted the conversation at that moment and with a jolt of dismay Washu registered the teenager pushing himself in front of her, holding up his hands as he misinterpreted Ryoko's actions. "Whoever you are - you shouldn't speak that way to her!"
"What did he say?" Tenchi looked non-plussed, and Ryoko frowned, biting her lip.
"I think he called Washu a Priestess." She said softly. "I don't know how, but bits and pieces of what they say I can understand. It's like...I don't know what it's like. But that bit of rock you gave me...it's opening all kinds of channels and I'm seeing and hearing a bunch more than I usually do."
"All right. This is getting weirder by the second." Tenchi frowned. "Priestess? Washu, what's going on, exactly? And Ryoko says you have my sword - how is that possible, when those guards took it?"
"The sword." Washu's eyes lit up with remembrance and she nodded her head, fumbling in her belt and holding out the hilt to her companion. "And I don't have a lot of time to explain everything to you. Just tell me something - did Tokimi somehow come with you to this planet?"
"Tokimi?" Ryoko was startled. She nodded, and Washu's heart sank. "Seiryo brought her because she could read the Kii letters. Sasami had a vision and it involved some kind of Kii prayer - something about death. Tokimi translated it, and got all freaked out because of it - so Seiryo got involved and brought Tokimi along as help."
"So Seiryo is here too?" Washu bit her lip.
"And Miho-Kiyo. He dragged them into it, too."
"Damn him." Washu clenched her fists. "So Yuzuha...she might have been...Ryoko, where is Seiryo now? Where are the others?"
"Looking for Tokimi." Tenchi said simply. "She got upset and ran off when Mihoshi said something about Kihaku being destroyed. Why?"
"Because Yuzuha has her as her prisoner, and she's going to kill her as soon as the sun rises." Washu said softly. Mayuka glanced between her Priestess and the newcomers, frowning as she reached up to touch Tenchi's arm.
"You are the one who holds that sword, sir...so you are from Jurai?" She asked quietly. "That's true?"
"What did she say?" Tenchi's expression became blank, and Washu smiled.
"She wants to know if you're from Jurai." She said simply. "That's all."
"In a manner of speaking." Tenchi looked startled, nodding his head so that Mayuka would understand his answer. "But I'm afraid I don't really understand...any of this."
"This planet is Rikishouki." Washu said heavily. "Mayuka here is the planet's proper heiress, but she's been displaced and her family murdered by the demon Yuzuha, who is the one whose men took your sword in the first place. I retrieved it in a conflict last night, but in truth, she's a very powerful creature and I'm not sure what it's going to take to beat her. Tadashi and Shouhei here are loyal to Mayuka's family, and I promised to help them free this world. The people here are Kii - survivors who left Kihaku on Juraian transport ships and who began a new life here when the ships crashed into this planet's surface."
"So they think you're their Priestess, because they're Kii and you're a Hakubi." Ryoko said slowly. Washu nodded her head.
"I said I'd help them." She agreed.
"Why?" Ryoko frowned. "How is it your fight - I thought you abandoned your Kii roots already, Washu."
"I did, but things have a habit of biting you when you least expect it." Washu spread her hands. "The people here are suffering, Ryoko, and in a sense, they are still my people. I might not be a true Priestess, and I've done enough stupid things in the past to build an encyclopaedia of mistakes. But if I can help them defeat Yuzuha, I will. Especially if she seeks to hurt my sister. I'm not happy that Tokimi is here at all - and now I know she's in trouble, I have to do something about it."
"What's going on?" Tadashi stirred, casting the newcomers a startled glance. "Are we discovered?"
"No, or not by the people we should fear." Washu shook her head. "Tadashi, Mayuka, Shouhei - this is my daughter Ryoko, and her fiance, Tenchi Masaki. They're family to me...and that's why they're here. To make sure I'm all right - however misguided that gesture might prove to be."
"Your daughter." Mayuka's eyes became huge, and she gazed up at Ryoko in awe. "Oh!"
"Don't look at me like that. You're creeping me out." Ryoko snapped, folding her arms across her chest. "Even if you've convinced Washu to dress up in that stupid hippy stuff, you are not going to get me to do it, so forget it now, all right? I'm a pirate, I'm not a Priestess. We came here for one reason only - to find Washu and take her back to where she belongs. That's all. Nothing else."
She spoke quietly, and for a moment, Washu did not register what it was about her daughter's speech that had rung so strangely. Then her eyes widened, and she grabbed the girl by the hands.
"Ryoko, did you just speak in Kii?" She demanded. Ryoko's expression became one of bewilderment, as she realised that Tenchi was staring at her in disbelief.
"Did I?" She murmured. "How would I do that?"
She fumbled in her pocket, pulling out the chip of bluish rock that Tenchi had given her, and holding it out. "Is it...this? Something about it...told me where you were. And it was like...like I knew your thoughts and feelings, when I touched it. Like we were connected somehow."
"Kii stone." Washu bit her lip, nodding her head. "Well, my daughter, so your heritage wakes inside of you at long last, does it?"
"Well, I don't like it." Ryoko said pragmatically. "I don't want to speak in funny languages or...or read what's in your head, if it's all the same to you."
She held out the stone, dropping it into Washu's outstretched fingers. "You keep this. It belongs to your weird planet, after all - and I really don't."
"Washu-sama...are you leaving? You aren't going to abandon us?" Shouhei looked alarmed. Washu hesitated, then she shook her head.
"I gave you my word that I'd take Yuzuha down and I will keep my promise." She said gravely. "I'm going to the place Tadashi mentioned - the place where my sister might be. And I will make sure that Yuzuha can't hurt your people any more, Shouhei. I won't let you down again - I swear it."
She turned to her daughter and her companion, offering them a rueful smile.
"Now's the bit where I go to fight the baddie." She said off-handedly. "I promised them I'd fight for them, and I will, so I'd appreciate it if you'd hold the flight home until I'm done reconstituting a certain demon's DNA. It might take a while, and it could get messy."
"Then I guess we're coming with you." Tenchi said frankly, glancing at his sword as it glimmered and flared into a bright translucent blade of light.
"It's not your fight, Tenchi." Washu shook her head, but Ryoko snorted.
"Don't be stupid. Of course it is." She said bluntly. "Do you think we came all the way here to let some demon make chopped mincemeat of you? Idiot. If it means we can leave this place more quickly, then we're coming to give you a hand. No arguments. This is as much our fight as it is yours, now. And you might need our help."
"I don't want harm to befall Mayuka and the others either, you know."
"Ryo Ohki will stay with them, if you like." Ryoko suggested, and Ryo Ohki's nose twitched at the sound of her name, her feathery ears flicking as if in acceptance of her duty. "When I need her, you know she'll come, and if they're in danger, she'll let me know. But Tenchi and I are going where you are, Washu. There's no discussion on the matter. It's already decided."
Washu faltered for a moment, then slowly she nodded her head, gratitude flickering in her green eyes.
"Then we haven't much time to lose." She murmured, flexing her fingers as her body was bathed in an ethereal blue light. "Even with the stone from Kihaku's core augmenting my magic, I don't know what kind of a battle this is going to be. Be on your guard, both of you - we don't know what we're going into, or what we might find when we get there!"
----------------
"It feels like we've been walking in circles all night."
Mihoshi sighed, pausing to rub her ankles as she did so. "We don't seem to be any further on than we were before...are we still somewhere near that weird village soldier place you found the stone for, Kiyone?"
"We've been trying to skirt around it, but it doesn't seem possible. Not with the trees this dense." Kiyone frowned, shaking her head. "Short of cutting them all down, I guess we have to go through it and hope for the best. The castle is on the other side - at least, if our theory works out. We need to get there somehow. If Seiryo's right about Tokimi being a prisoner, that seems like the place she'd be."
"I could hack a few branches with pleasure." Seiryo pursed his lips. "I could use something to take my frustration out on."
"Don't be stupid." Kiyone admonished. "How to draw attention to yourself, deforesting a planet!"
"Isn't it like, sacrilege or something for a Juraian to cut down trees, anyhow?" Mihoshi asked unexpectedly, and Seiryo paused, staring at her in surprise.
"Pardon me?"
"Well, Jurai worships trees and stuff, right?" Mihoshi shrugged. "Isn't it like killing your God, if you cut down a tree?"
"Believe me, Mihoshi, that only extends to trees on Jurai." Seiryo said grimly. "These trees are in our way, and they'd be fair game. But I take the point about drawing attention to ourselves. Besides, we have made progress of one sort. Somehow we've managed to go completely around the side of the settlement – and now there's a wide stretch of water between us and our target."
He gestured, and Kiyone frowned as she saw the truth in his words.
"A river." She murmured. "How did we manage to get here without crossing it before-hand? Or even seeing it, for that matter?"
"Best guess is that it's hidden by the rise." Seiryo glanced upwards, shielding his gaze from the glimmering morning sun. "In the dark we were lucky not to stumble into it. But I think that we've wasted a lot of time. If I'm right, we should have come this way originally. Somehow, running through thick forests and getting thrown off track by temples, we've come around full circle. The Unko is in that direction." He pointed. "And the ship key around my wrist is picking up it's transmit signal, so it can't be that far, either. Certainly not a day's walk."
"You mean to say that if we'd found the river before the trees, we'd have been here a lot sooner?" Kiyone's eyes opened wide. "Ryoko didn't mention a river, when we put down."
"As I said, it's probably hidden by the grassland and the lie of the terrain." Seiryo shrugged. "This is one of the drawbacks of entering the planetary orbit of a civilisation too primitive to deal in digital mapping devices. We got lost."
"So if we cross that river, we'll get to the place we're going to? The place near the castle?" Mihoshi asked. Seiryo nodded.
"That seems to be right." He agreed. "If I'm picking up the Unko's coordinates correctly, then it shouldn't be too much further to go. Remember, Ryoko-sama did see the settlement from where we landed, pretty much. It must be the same place – we must be on the right trail."
"Then we have to find a way to cross." Kiyone frowned. "Any ideas?"
"Kiyone! Seiryo, look!" Mihoshi's yell made both nobleman and detective turn, admonishments dying on their lips as they realised that she had found a sturdy, if make-shift wooden bridge, set at the highest point of the river bank as it stretched out over the waters below. Seiryo approached it cautiously, running his fingers along the rough rope that held it in place.
"It looks safe enough." He said doubtfully. "And as though it's been here a long time. I imagine we'd be all right crossing it."
"You don't sound totally convinced." Kiyone frowned. "What's up? Don't tell me you can't swim."
Seiryo snorted.
"Don't be stupid." He said witheringly. "Of course I can. But I think destroying a bridge and falling into the river might damage our undercover routine just a little bit."
"I think its safe enough." Mihoshi took a step or two onto the bridge, nodding her head. "Yep, it feels fine. It's quite fun, actually – just like basic assault course training. Come on, both of you. We're almost there and it's almost light and we want to rescue Tokimi, don't we?"
"Well, there's one way to find out." Seiryo shrugged. "Are you coming, Kiyone? Mihoshi is right. We're wasting time, and Tokimi might be in trouble the longer we dither here."
"I'm coming if you are." Kiyone returned neatly. "I'm not scared of wooden bridges, even if you are. Back home, my brother and I used to run riot over these kinds of things all the time, on our neighbour's land. It doesn't bother me one bit."
As if to prove her point, she stepped neatly onto the bridge, negotiating the uneven planking without a moment of hesitation, and Seiryo sighed, following suit as he made his way more carefully to the other side.
"There's no need to show off." He said archly, inwardly envying her swift movements. "Mastering heathen constructions is not something to be proud of. If anyone tried to produce something like this on Jurai, they'd probably be deported."
"And I thought you Elite Agents trained for all eventualities." Kiyone bantered back. "My bad. I guess that's just us Regulars who do that."
"I'm not an Elite Agent." Seiryo said evenly, as he reached the waiting detectives on the other side. "I'm a Lord of Jurai's Court and that is all…you of all people should remember that, Kiyone."
"Will you two stop it with the bickering? You're giving me a headache." Mihoshi pulled a face. "We're on the other side – so now what do we do? Try and find a way around the outside of this settlement or what?"
"Going through the middle would be quicker, if we could manage it." Kiyone murmured, glancing across at the edge of the small settlement as she did so. "So I think that's what we'll have to do, and hope it's a busy throughfare or something. We might pass as ordinary folk, so long as we don't speak to one another while we're there."
She cast Mihoshi a glare.
"Got that, Miho? Not a word."
"Why look at me?" Mihoshi sounded hurt. "I can be quiet too, you know. I don't always talk. And besides, you're talking too, and so was Seiryo, just then. It isn't just me making a noise, and..."
She stopped in mid-sentence, as Kiyone clapped her hands around her colleague's mouth, sending her a dark look.
"And you're babbling, which is exactly what I don't want you to do." She said evenly. "So stop it. All right? If they realise we're from outside, it might get us all killed...and it sure won't help Tokimi."
"So we're going in and hoping for the best." Seiryo mused. "Honestly, I think I prefer it that way. If we're going to fight, then I'd rather see my opponant face to face before I make him regret jumping me."
"Not that you're at all stuck on your own ability, or anything." Kiyone muttered, and Seiryo shot her a look.
"You said be quiet." He chided. "So you should lead by example."
"Oh, you." Kiyone bristled, but she obediently fell silent, and slowly they descended the hill towards the nearest of the odd looking buildings that encircled the military encampment. There was noone in sight, and Seiryo glanced around him, taking in the tell-tale signs of discarded weaponry. He sighed, half comforted and half alerted by the fact their presence so close to a military base did not seem to have created any kind of stir.
As they edged cautiously around the edges of the old building, they heard a tremendous scream, followed by the harsh scolding of someone else in cold, unsympathetic tones, and a cold chill washed through the nobleman's heart as he registered what it meant.
"Tokimi-chan!"
He darted towards the sound, inwardly knowing that his ward was in danger, but Kiyone grabbed him by the arm, causing him to send her a dark look.
"What?" He snapped. "That's Tokimi! She's in trouble, Kiyone - stop holding me back!"
Kiyone looked at him for a moment, and Seiryo had the impression she was about to object to his decision. Then she frowned, shaking her head.
"Mihoshi and I will cover your trail." She said softly. "But be careful, okay? We don't know what kind of arms they have, and we don't know what we're up against."
"I'll be fine." Seiryo assured her. "If you girls cover me, then we'll all be all right. Thank you, Kiyone. I'll be careful, I promise."
Kiyone's frown deepened, but she nodded her head, releasing her grip on his sleeve and Seiryo crept forward, hand hovering over the hilt of his sword as he slipped between the buildings towards the sound of the disturbance. The sound of another scream pierced through him, as he made out the words his terrified ward was screaming.
"Nii-chan is here, Tokimi." He muttered. "So don't worry. I'm here and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you any more, I promise."
As he made this solemn vow, he rounded the corner, seeing for the first time the scene that was unfolding before him in the central square of the military settlement. A few feet from the forbidding black-stone statue that stood proud on the stone dais, a makeshift stake had been erected, and icy dread flooded Seiryo's entire being as he registered the crying, struggling figure that was being tightly lashed to the wooden structure, held forcibly in place by several uniformed men as a cloaked being supervised from a short distance away. He grasped his sword more tightly in his hand, flaring it into a blade as he prepared to leap into battle, then he hesitated, remembering Kiyone's words about risk and reckless judgement. He frowned, forcing himself to calm down.
"Kiyone is right." He muttered. "If I dart in there without thinking, all that will probably happen is that I'll cause harm to someone, and the risk is that that someone might be Tokimi. I can't let that happen. I must be more cautious. But dammit, it's such a pain. It's times like this that I wish I was as clinical about things as I used to be. It's all very well, having attachments to people, but when it clouds your judgement in this manner..."
"You monsters! Stop picking on her and let her go right now!"
Mihoshi's voice startled him from his recriminations and he turned, seeing the detective standing in the middle of the village central street, weapon cocked and a look of determination on her face. A short distance behind her, her partner emerged slowly from her shelter, raising her own weapon as she cast her companion a long-suffering look of weary resignation.
"Galaxy Police!" She exclaimed. "Step away from Tokimi and hold your hands above your heads!"
The gathering around the would-be pyre hesitated at the sudden, unfamiliar shouting, and one or two of them seemed genuinely perturbed by the intrusion, stepping back from the stake in hesitation and fear. There was a moment of complete silence, then the cloaked figure, who until then had seemed detached from the whole scene stepped forward, putting herself neatly between her guardspeople and the two officers.
"Well. I didn't think that the Galaxy Police patrolled this sector quite so diligently." She spoke in soft, hoarse tones, and Seiryo's eyes widened in surprise as he realised he could understand her language. "But you really should have saved yourself the trouble. This planet does not recognise interference from your organisation. Intrusion is not welcome here...and you are interrupting a rite of justice proclaimed and supported by the people of this world. Step aside, both of you, or my men shall consign you to the same fate."
"Who are you, and what do you want with Tokimi?" Kiyone stepped cautiously forward, still holding her gun up as she did so. "You're misinformed, whoever you might be. The Galaxy Police exist to protect the innocent, and we're here to take Tokimi home with us."
"The innocent, you say?" The figure seemed amused. "Do you know who this woman is, Detective? Clearly you have no idea what she was. There is nothing innocent about her. She is a killer - a vengeful, murderous witch who slaughtered the lives of her entire planet in her desire to destroy Tsunami. She is the reason my people came here, to this remote, impoverished rock - the few survivors who escaped her darkness to rebuild their civilisation. She is Kihaku's traitor, and I am their justice. I am Yuzuha, Priestess of Rikishouki. And Inoue-no-Tokimi's crimes must be punished."
"Tokimi's brain is broken! She doesn't understand and you're mean, trying to hurt her just because she did a bad thing in the past!" Mihoshi objected hotly, firing off her weapon in her indignation and the bullet ricocheted off the black stone statue, chipping the edge of the cape and causing several of the already jittery guardsmen to mutter among themselves, glancing at Tokimi in alarm as if they believed she was the cause of the interference. Tokimi herself had long since given herself up to her tears, and at the sight of her, Seiryo's heart once more constricted with anger.
"Keep them busy, both of you." He muttered. "While they're distracted, I'm going in."
To think was to act, and Seiryo dropped carefully to the ground, finding that the raised platform that bore the statue and the stake hid him adequately from view as he crawled along the dirt-packed ground. Clouds of dust wafted up in his face and he swallowed hard, trying his best not to choke and give away his position as he heard the cloaked figure challenge his companions once again.
"You have no right to interfere in the proceedings of Rikishouki." The voice was cold and almost bored, Seiryo decided, as if she didn't really consider the Galaxy Police any threat to her position. "You are getting tiresome, and delaying my business here."
She raised her hands, barking out some order in the strange, gutteral tongue that Seiryo recognised as Kii, and immediately the guards that had surrounded the bound Tokimi surged forwards, pulling blades from their belts as they converged on the two detectives. Seiryo heard Kiyone curse, and he ducked down just in time as another bullet careened across the stone dais.
"Stop or we'll shoot you and it will really, really hurt if we do." That was Mihoshi, and Seiryo knew she was already priming her weapon for a third shot.
"I had no idea her aim was so terrible." Seiryo gritted his teeth, glancing up as he realised he was within reach of the wooden bonfire and that Tokimi was almost in his grasp. "At this rate, she'll shoot Tokimi, and that's no better than me dashing in unprepared. I'm starting to see what Kiyone means when she talks about Mihoshi's heart ruling her head - and yet, considering all that Tokimi and I did to her in the past, that she's putting herself in danger to help us both means a lot. I won't waste the opportunity. It's time they understood that there are three people fighting this battle for Tokimi's freedom. Not two."
He clambered up behind Tokimi, slicing his blade carefully through the thick rope that had bound her and she tumbled forward onto her knees with a thump, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Carefully he inched around the wood-piled structure, placing his hand on her arm and she glanced up, seeing him for the first time. For a moment she didn't speak, then she flung herself on him, burying her head in his shoulder as she clung to him tightly.
"Nii-chan." She sobbed. "Nii-chan came! Nii-chan came!"
"Of course I did." Seiryo assured her. "Can you stand, Tokimi? I need to get you out of here - and then I have to help Kiyone and Mihoshi deal with our friends."
"Stop right there, stranger."
The voice startled him and he glanced up, meeting the glittering eyes of the cloaked figure as she gazed down at him. "This girl is a prisoner of Rikishouki. She belongs to me, and to the people of this world. Those who help her will be condemned just as she is for her crimes - you have no business interfering in justice."
"Killing a helpless girl is not justice." Seiryo snapped back coldly, prising himself free of Tokimi's grip as he held out his sword, brandishing it firmly in the figure's direction. "I don't care if you're a Priestess or a monster from Hell. You will not lay another finger on her, do you understand me? She has the protection of the Emperor of Jurai!"
"The Emperor of...Jurai?" The woman's eyes narrowed, and for the briefest moment, Seiryo had the impression that something other than human features lurked beneath her dark cape. Behind him, he could hear Tokimi's terrified whimpers and his resolve hardened as he stepped resolutely in front of his charge, shielding her from the demon's view completely.
"Yes." He said softly. "The Emperor of Jurai and the Lady Tsunami, both of whom I serve. Whoever you are, you will pay for hurting Tokimi like this."
"It seems that Jurai has not lost interest in the Kii, after all." The woman said serenely. "They have long believed that a Priestess will come to save them all...but the Priestess is their destroyer, allied with Jurai and surrounded by pretenders and false promises. No wonder the people of this planet were so easy to overcome. They have been deceived for generations - believing in a being that simply does not exist!"
"She exists, Yuzuha."
A fresh voice interrupted the conversation at that point, and Seiryo's eyes widened as a form shimmered and glowed into view before them, her hands clasped together as her outline became more and more defined. Thick red hair flitted out around her face in a loose, unfettered style, beads glittering in amongst the thick waves and across her scalp as if in place of a coronet. She was dressed in flowing robes of cream, bound at the waist with a wide red sash and about her throat sparkled the gold of an old, engraved pendant. Around her wrists, blue-crystal armlets glittered and shone with a light and energy reflected in the woman's vivid green eyes, and somehow her very existance seemed ethereal. On the ground before her, spreading wings stretched out across the dark shape of her shadow, and despite himself, Seiryo swallowed hard at the sight of them, as memories of a past encounter with such magic flitted briefly through his mind. Behind the spectre, Ryoko and Tenchi hazed into view, but for once Seiryo was unable to focus on the fact that reinforcements had arrived. Behind him, Tokimi struggled to her feet, grasping at his shoulder for support as she stumbled forward.
"Onee-sama." She murmured. "You're safe!"
Her words were Kii, but somehow Seiryo understood their meaning as the glowing being set down gracefully on the wooden dais, facing the cloaked figure with a cold, impassive gaze.
"You can insult me all you like, Yuzuha." The apparition continued quietly. "But you will not harm my little sister. Tokimi's crimes were the crimes and will of the Eagle of Kihaku, and are not yours to judge. You have no business being here. You are a parasite to these people, just as others sucked the life and sanity from Kihaku when I was just a girl. You are that darkest of beings - a true demon - and I will not let you continue to hurt the people of Rikishouki!"
"Washu?" Seiryo found his voice at this moment, staring at his friend in disbelief. The vision turned for a moment, her glittering green eyes resting on his face and Seiryo saw reserve and disapproval in her gaze. She did not say anything, however, turning her attention back to the matter at hand.
"You again." Yuzuha reacted angrily, flexing her fingers as her aura glittered and shone with evil light. "I thought I'd already dispensed with you - the imposter who sought Juraian friendships over that of her own people!"
"I won't pretend I've always made the right choices where the Kii are concerned." Washu said quietly. "But I'm no imposter. My name is Hakubi-no-Washuu, Yuzuha. My father was the Priest of Kihaku. And I am his heiress by the blood that courses through my veins."
She raised her arms further, as light danced out from the stone bracelets.
"Kihaku's soul lives in the stone of this meteorite...expelled from the World as an omen to its people." She said softly. "It confirms what you try to deny - that whether you like it or not, the magic reacts to my body as though it were meant to be bonded with it beyond any connection you can ever have to this world. My father named me Eagle's Feather, because I am blood of the Hakubi and I am the Eagle's representative among the Kii. I have come to do what I should have done a long time ago - protected my people from scum such as you."
As she spoke, her body became enveloped in a glittering light, as sparks of both blue and amber flared out around her, surging across the ground towards where Yuzuha stood. The demon cursed in a dark, unintelligible tongue, leaping out of the way of Washu's blast and only narrowly avoiding being hit.
"If you want me, you'll have to come and find me, Priestess or not." She said darkly. "They aren't your people, they're mine - and I'll soon teach you that with or without the divine magic of your World, you and your tribe are merely a legend on a sheet of parchment - dead, gone and without hope of ever defeating me."
With that she vanished in a haze of red light, and Washu let out a heavy sigh, dropping her hands as the aura faded from around her body.
"Washu! You're all right! You're all right!" Mihoshi ran forward, forgetting for a moment the gathered guardsmen, most of whom had watched the entire encounter without understanding any of it. One of them lurched towards her, reaching out to strike her with her blade, but Ryoko was too quick for him and a volley of red-orange light sliced through the morning air, knocking the sword out of her hand with a heavy clatter.
"The next time someone tries something like that, it won't be their sword that gets zapped." She said firmly, raising her hands in a warning gesture. Although they did not understand her words, there was no mistaking her meaning, and the remaining guardsmen took several steps back from the poised Detectives. Several of them withdrew into the shadows of the surrounding houses, the others dropping to their knees as an awkward silence descended over the village square.
"Washu." Seiryo frowned, coming towards her, but Washu turned, shaking her head slowly.
"I have things to do. Not now, but we'll talk later." She said quietly. "And I'll have things to say about Tokimi being brought into this mess, Seiryo. But for now I have something else I have to see to."
"Are you going after her again?" Tenchi demanded. Washu nodded.
"I have to." She said with a sigh. "As it stands, Mayuka and the others aren't as well hidden as they could be, and I thought it would be safer if they stayed within the castle walls. But I was wrong - and I have to track her down. I promised them I wouldn't let anyone get killed and I'm going to keep that promise no matter what happens along the way."
"Then we'll stick with you." Ryoko said firmly. Washu shook her head, but Ryoko folded her arms across her chest.
"I'm coming whether you like it or not, and Tenchi and I, we work as a team." She said frankly. "Didn't we already tell you this? That's just how it works, so stop arguing. You're wasting time."
Washu faltered for a moment, then she spread her hands.
"If that's how you feel." She said with a shrug. "I won't waste the energy fighting over it."
"Miko...sama?" As they prepared to leave, one of the disarmed guardsmen stumbled forwards, dropping to his knees before the scientist and raising a curious, awed gaze to hers. "Are you...are you truly the one? Hakubi-no-Washuu? Are you...her?"
Washu nodded her head solemnly, and the man bowed his head, fear and apprehension on his weathered features.
"Forgive us, Miko-sama." He whispered. "Please, forgive us."
"There is nothing to forgive...not from you." Washu shook her head, reaching out to gently raise him to his feet and he gazed up at her with a look of reverence. She dimpled, and for an instant Seiryo saw the cheeky scientist deep within the Priestess's visage.
"I've been away too long, and I'm sorry to have abandoned you all when you've been forced to live in fear." She murmured. "But I'm here now, and I promise, things are going to change. I will rid Rikishouki of the demon. You have my word."
She paused, then held out her hands to her daughter and the Prince.
"Let's go." She said simply. "I think I know where Yuzuha's headed - and we want to find her before she regains her full strength."
"Oneesama!" Tokimi held out a hand to her sister, and Washu sent her a slight smile.
"Be good, stay safe, and make sure Seiryo looks after you." She said softly. "I'll see you soon, imoto-chan. I promise."
With that her body hazed and glittered out of view, Tenchi and Ryoko disappearing with her, and Seiryo bit his lip, turning to face the sorry figure of his charge with ashamed eyes.
"No doubt I'll deserve everything she has to say to me, too." He murmured, more to himself than to his companion as he held out his hand to haul the girl to her feet. "But you're alive, and safe, and that's what matters."
"Should we go after her? Should we try and help Washu take on that weird caped Yuzuha woman?" Kiyone mounted the dais at that moment, casting a glance behind her at the still-dazed guardsmen as she did so. "I've no idea what Washu said to them, but whatever it was, it seems to have rendered them pretty harmless."
"Tokimi?" Seiryo glanced at the young Kii, who swallowed hard, reaching up to wipe the tears from her eyes.
"Nee-chan told them she was Priestess." She said unevenly. "And...and that she would make the demon go away. That's all."
"She wasn't...wasn't like Washu." Mihoshi said slowly, thrusting her gun roughly back into its holster and narrowly missing shooting herself in the foot as she did so. "Woah! I swear that I thought the clip was on - how weird is that? But don't you think so - she wasn't like our Washu just then. Her hair, and how she was dressed - are we sure she's really our Washu?"
"Tokimi would have known, if she wasn't." Seiryo said gravely. "But I know what you mean. Washu has always fought against this idea of being the Priestess of Kihaku. Yet here we are, on a planet that isn't Kihaku, and now..."
"Washu's facing up to her past, isn't she." Kiyone said thoughtfully. "This is the Washu we've none of us ever known - except maybe Tokimi, once upon a time. It's the Kii Washu - the one she left behind when she became Professor Hakubi and started messing with the universal laws of science."
"I think she looked...kind of beautiful." Mihoshi looked wistful. "Don't you think? Not scary and sort of overworked like she sometimes does - but powerful. Strong. And really pretty."
"She did." Seiryo acknowledged. "But I'm not sure about her not being frightening, Mihoshi. I have a feeling that that Washu is still very much around. I don't think we should go after them, no. I think they'll be fine without us, and besides, I think we should get Tokimi back to the Unko. We've...no, I've put her in enough danger. I won't put her in any more if I can help it."
"Then we go back there and wait for them to join us?" Kiyone asked. Seiryo nodded.
"I think so." He agreed. "We can send a signal to Jurai so that people know that we're safe - and that Washu seems to have everything under control here after all. We'll wait for the full explanation till later...for now, I think that is our best course of action."
"Can Tokimi manage?" Kiyone eyed the girl in concern. "She looks pretty ragged. Tokimi, are you all right?"
"Tokimi...Tokimi wants to go home." Tokimi said softly.
"Toki-chan, Kihaku is gone." Seiryo bit his lip. "I'm sorry...but it is."
"No." Tokimi shook her head. "Tokimi...Tokimi doesn't want...Kihaku. Tokimi...wants...Suki and...Nii-chan and...and Jurai."
"Jurai?" Seiryo stared, and Tokimi raised melancholy blue eyes to her companion.
"Tokimi wants to go back." She whispered. "And be...be like before. With Suki and Nii-chan and Sasami and everyone is happy. On Jurai, like...like before."
"Then that's what we'll do." Seiryo held out his hand to her, but Tokimi hesitated, shaking her head as she took a step back from him. Seiryo frowned, confusion flooding his gaze as he tried to interpret the tragic expression on her face.
"Tokimi?" He murmured. "What is it? What's wrong?"
Tokimi did not answer, and Seiryo eyed her in consternation.
"Are you cross with me for putting you in danger?" He asked gently. "Because I apologise, if that's so. You've every right to be angry - I should not have brought you here and I should not have let you get seperated from us."
"Tokimi is sorry." Tokimi swallowed hard. "Tokimi is...is bad person. Is...is a demon, like...like Yuzuha."
"Tokimi, you're not a demon." Kiyone said gently, as Seiryo stared at his ward in horror. "Not even a little bit. So you mustn't think that, okay? Whatever that woman said to you, don't take it to heart. She's the demon. Not you."
"But Tokimi...Tokimi..." Tokimi faltered, then grasped Kiyone by the hands, true anguish in her unusual blue eyes.
"Tokimi wanted Kiyone-san to die." She whispered. "And...and she made Nii-chan...she made Nii-chan...and Kihaku was...and Sasami came and...and Tokimi is sorry! Tokimi did bad things and now...now..."
Her voice wavered as the tears threatened once again and Kiyone, who had stared at her in surprise at her words seemed to gather herself, hugging the girl tightly as she shook her head.
"I have never blamed you." She said softly, meeting Seiryo's stricken gaze with a sombre one of her own over Tokimi's shoulder as she did so. "You weren't yourself, and you couldn't help the things that happened. This you is the real Tokimi, I know that. So don't be sorry. You did nothing wrong, Tokimi. It was the spell that did bad things - to you and to Seiryo. And now the spell has gone, so it's all right. You told me on Jurai you wanted to be friends, right? Well, so do I. We can be friends, now the bad magic has left you alone."
"Kiyone-san...isn't mad?" Tokimi raised big eyes to her companion, hope flickering briefly in her gaze, and Kiyone shook her head.
"Not at all." She assured her. "So you mustn't be, either. And we should start making our way back to the Unko, all right? You're dirty and messy and you'll feel better when you've had a bath. Your hair's all tangled, Tokimi - I'm sure Mihoshi and I can help you fix it, even if Seiryo doesn't know one end of a ribbon from another."
At this Seiryo gathered his wits, gratitude flickering in his gaze as he nodded his head.
"Let's go back." He murmured. "Tokimi, if you're tired, I'll carry you...I don't mind. And Kiyone is right...what she said is true."
He fumbled in his pocket for the ship's key, holding it out to the Detective, who took it, glancing at him in surprise.
"You and Mihoshi go on ahead. Open up the ship and get in contact with the people who need to know." He said quietly. "I'll bring Tokimi. If you don't mind - I'd rather it was that way."
Kiyone's eyes lit up with comprehension and she nodded, grasping the key tightly.
"I'm with you." She said softly. "Come on, Miho. We're the advance party - we'll go radio Headquarters, Jurai and the Earth, let them know what's going on. Seiryo's going on an ego trip and he wants to defend Tokimi himself this time, so we'll let him deal with any trouble on his own...I'm getting cold out here, and the ship will be nice and warm."
Mihoshi shivered, nodding her head.
"That sounds good to me." She said decidedly. "Lets go!"
