Chapter Twenty Five: No Need for a Temple to Washu

Washu walked around and looked at another statue of herself no larger than Sasami's hand. It was made from a single diamond, except for the eyes. The artist used two bright emeralds, and it made it seem like the statue's gaze followed her. Then she saw something that immediately caught her attention: a small picture, old and yellowed. In it, Washu was leaving the children's quarantine zone after she and her team had found the cure, leading a small band of healthy kids outside. Their little faces were all smiles and laughter because they could finally leave the building that they had been confined to for months - in some cases, years.

The scientist remembered that day. She had left the quarantine zone holding hands with a set of twin girls, one on either side when something caught her eye. A small boy stood at a window on one of the upper floors. His hands were pressed flat against the glass, and he looked down at Washu and the other children. His expression carried a mixture of emotions: fear, pain, confusion. It pained Washu to see that little boy trapped inside still because he wasn't healthy enough to be released with the others. Even now, something about his eyes bothered Washu. Perhaps it was fury at being left behind, but Washu did not think so.

She heard a sound behind her, and whirled around. Ryo-oh-ki was in the room with her, rubbing her furry face up against a tiny framed portrait.

"Ryo-oh-ki, what do you think you're doing? Stop that, right now."

"Meow, mew mrow," Ryo-oh-ki squeaked.

"Yes, yes. I'm sure that feels wonderful to you, but I don't think Ceal would be pleased with you tilting his pictures. Do you?"

Ceal's pictures? Washu returned to stare at the yellowed photograph. She could see the small face of that boy, frozen in time. Those eyes, what was it about those eyes? Washu closed her own eyes and shook her head, then looked again. No, that couldn't be...there was no chance Washu should have missed it. The child's face was different, but his eyes! They were the same as Ceal's when he forced Tenchi, Ryoko and Washu to leave him behind on the Togami's bridge. She straightened the frame.

"Come here, Ryo-oh-ki." Washu held out her arms and the little cabbit leapt into them, then rubbed her furry cheek against Washu's.

Washu reached out and picked up a small sculpture Ryo-oh-ki just knocked over. Then she noticed a holo-reader screen that was unlike the other works of art in the cabin, and it appeared new. Washu glanced around, as if someone watched her, then pressed the activation switch.

She was startled to see a three-dimensional image of herself outside the Masaki house, hanging laundry to dry. Washu pressed a toggle to switch pictures. Click. There she was, heading towards the onsen along with Mihoshi. She pressed the switch again, with some hesitation, to view the next image, and laughed - just her dragging Tenchi back towards the house.

Click. The viewer showed Washu a pretty young woman with short red hair and a Galactic Detective uniform. Her hands were folded behind her back and she stood at ease, her gaze straight into the camera; she wore a huge smile that lit up her entire face and made her eyes twinkle. If Washu felt surprised by that image, than the next was enough to cause her to drop Ryo-oh-ki to the floor.

There stood Ceal, head and shoulders taller above the same young detective. She wore a bright yellow blouse and black vest. Ceal was dressed in a dark red cape, an orange shirt with a grey vest, and white pants. Washu smiled and wondered about Ceal's ability - or lack of it - to perceive colors. There was no mistaking the look on his face; Ceal was happy. He stood tall and the smile on his face was so broad that it almost looked painful. He stared at the young detective with intensity. This image showed no hint of Ceal's normal reserved and distanced demeanor.

The next image featured Washu again, resting on the porch of the Masaki house. She was napping, a book on her lap. The resolution was so good that Washu could make out the title. It was a novel that Washu had just finished up the day before Ceal appeared. Washu sensed that Ceal had not used a telephoto lens, but had stood less than ten feet away.

Ryo-oh-ki drew Washu's attention when she bounded over the tabletop and furiously swatted at the miniature statue. Washu quickly flipped through the next few images, all of her and all taken within the last week. The last one showed Washu in the woods, playing with Ryo-oh-ki. The cabbit stared at her own 3D image and meowed at herself.

Washu returned to the photo featuring Ceal and that girl. Who was she? Whatever matters troubled Ceal's soul now did not show up in the Tri-3 holo.

The sound of shattering glass came from the next room, separated by a veil of stringed beads. Ryo-oh-ki dashed through the beads, and Washu followed. She wondered...if this was the entrance to Ceal's quarters, why weren't there any security devices on the door? But then, once someone got into this section, it didn't make sense to restrict them from the rest of the area. Washu heard Ryo-oh-ki's mews, then the cabbit phased through the wall.

When Washu passed through the open doorway, it felt like she walked through a deep and cold lake; perhaps a weak force field, not enough to stop her movements but enough to slow her down. As Washu struggled against the barrier, she wondered how long it took to move between adjacent rooms. When she looked back over her shoulder, the exit appeared to be six or seven meters behind her, and upcoming entrance just beyond her reach.

So, that portal did not just go between Ceal's Art Room and his living space...it was his last defense to keep unwelcome visitors out; a dimensional space similar to the one she used for her lab back on Earth. That could be a decent trap, especially if both points sealed up once an intruder entered. The side-space might hold her indefinitely, like when she had been Kagato's prisoner aboard the Soga. A chill ran up her spine at the thought that Ceal might add the real thing to his collection.