Chapter 4:

Disclaimer: I do not own Tenchi Muyo! Tenchi Universe or any of the characters, they belong to Pioneer and AIC. The song Melodies of Life is not mine, it belongs to Squaresoft.

Chapter 5:

Ryoko stood up and walked off towards the portal without saying a word to Washu. Washu on the other hand sat in her chair for a few seconds, stunned, contemplating the events she'd just seen.

'Ryoko wait!' She shouted, Ryoko stopped a few metres short of the portal, but didn't turn to face her mother. A tear made its way down her face despite all of her self-control.

'You weren't supposed to remember that….' Was all Washu could manage to say.

'And you think that makes it better? You still did it to me.' Ryoko replied. She wasn't shouting, but instead her voice was soft and low.

'It was a mistake, a big stupid mistake!' Washu shouted, falling to her knees and weeping into her hands.

'What are you crying for?' Ryoko asked her in a spiteful tone, still not facing her mother.

'I'm crying… because of what I did….' Washu managed in between sobs. 'I'm so sorry Ryoko…. You weren't supposed to remember.'

'Is that all you can say?' Ryoko raised her voice turning to face her mother, a couple more tears following the first, but she didn't care anymore. 'Tell me why. Tell me why you hurt me mom.'

'Because I was stupid.' Washu raised her head from her hands to look at her daughter, her sobs starting to calm down, her eyes pleading with her daughters for understanding. This pushed Ryoko over the edge 'What the hell do you mean because you were stupid!' She shouted back, her tears freely flowing now.

'What do you want me to say?' Was all Washu could manage as her sobs picked up again.

'I want you to say that there was a reason! I want you to tell me that my pain was worth something besides your god damn research!' Ryoko yelled at the top of her lungs, glaring straight into her mother's eyes. Washu couldn't stand her daughter's eyes anymore and just looked at the hard metal floor.

'That's all it was, wasn't it. You put me through all that for nothing but your worthless research. You did all that to me for nothing!' Ryoko fell to her knees and started sobbing too. After a few moments she continued 'Ever since I met you again, I hoped…. I hoped and I prayed that you had a good reason. That maybe it was all for something… that maybe it would cure a disease… or save a planet or anything! Then at least I could try and forgive you… just to know you had a reason…. But now I know the truth….' She slumped forward and pounded her fist into the cold metal floor, not even denting it. Seeing her daughter like this made Washu cry even more. Knowing she was the cause just added to her own pain. 'Ryoko….' She let out in little more than a whisper.

'Shut up! I hate you!' Ryoko got back to her feet, trying to regain her composure. She rose into the air and flew straight up at break neck speed. This sent alarm bells off in Washu's head.

'Ryoko wait!' She shouted in the vain hope that Ryoko would listen.

'Go to hell!' was her reply. Washu gazed in horror as Ryoko flew up… and slammed straight into the shield. Normally this would be nothing to worry about, Ryoko had hit shields in the outer parts of her lab many times. But this deep in the lab the shield was much stronger, not only that but they were only about half a mile from the main shield generator. All this meant that the shield was over a hundred times stronger here than in other parts of her lab. Ryoko's screams filled the lab; instead of falling back down, she was held suspended by the shield's energy. Washu was stunned for a couple of seconds by her daughter's screams before acting as quickly as possible. She called her laptop and shut down the generator as quickly as she could. The sounds of the shield died away but Ryoko's screams continued as she fell towards the ground. She hit the ground with a sickening crash, not even denting the floor, her screams died away as the hit knocked her out. Washu called up a portal to the medical area of her lab and then ran to Ryoko's prone body. She rolled her over onto her back, lifted her up in her arms and carried her through the portal. She set her down on one of the beds and called her computer again as various scanners and instruments appeared from under the bed. Running a few scans, Washu found that Ryoko had minor burns, which would heal within a few minutes, but she also had serious internal injuries. She did her best to heal her daughter, but despite all her equipment Ryoko's chances were only about seventy percent; if she made it through the next couple of hours then she'd be fine by morning, Washu didn't even think about the alternative.

She dimmed the bright white lights to make it feel less like a hospital and walked over to Ryoko, looking at her face.

'Little Ryoko, you look so peaceful when you sleep.' Washu whispered softly as she stroked Ryoko's cheek with the back of her hand, tears starting to fill her eyes.

'It reminds me of when you were young. Did you know that I have a camera above your rafter just so I can watch you sleep? Sometimes I even go up there so I can see you with my own eyes; of course I always make sure you won't wake up. It's the only time I feel like your mother these days, when you look at me I don't see any love in your eyes.' Washu moved from stroking her cheek to her forehead, brushing her bangs out of her face, the tears threatening to escape her eyes. 'I always thought that it was your fault, that you refused to accept me. Now I guess I know the reason…. It's not you, it never was, it was me. Can I ever ask you to forgive me? No, I can't even forgive myself.' The first tear worked its way out of her eyes and landed on the bed. 'Would it help if I told you why I did it little Ryoko? Or would it just push you even further away from me? Probably the latter. It seems that I just can't stop hurting you no matter what my intentions.'

Ryoko let out a low moan, a frown tugged at her face. Washu stopped stroking Ryoko's forehead and took her hand, squeezing it gently. She brought her other hand up to continue stroking.

'Shhh Ryoko, I know it hurts. It'll all be better soon, I promise.' She seemed to relax slightly at this, her muscles loosening and her moans ceasing. An idea occurred to Washu.

'Do you remember when I used to sing to you whenever you had nightmares? I always used to clam you down that way, even in your sleep. It's been a while but I think I can still manage.' She gently sat on the bed and lifted Ryoko's head to cradle it in her arms against her chest. She cleared her throat a couple of times, closed her eyes and began:

'Alone for a while I've been searching through the dark

For traces of the love you left inside my lonely heart

To weave by picking up the pieces that remain

Melodies of life--love's lost refrain

A voice from the past, joining yours and mine

Adding up the layers of harmony

And so it goes, on and on. Melodies of Life,

To the sky beyond the flying birds--forever and beyond

So far and away, see the bird as it flies by

Gliding through the shadows of the clouds up in the sky

I've laid my memories and dreams upon those wings

Leave them now and see what tomorrow brings

In your dearest memories, do you remember loving me?

Was it fate that brought us close and now leaves me behind?

A voice from the past, joining yours and mine.

Adding up the layers of harmony

And so it goes, on and on

Melodies of life,

To the sky beyond the flying birds--forever and beyond

If I should leave this lonely world behind

Your voice will still remember our melody

Now I know we'll carry on

Melodies of Life

Come circle round and grow deep in our hearts

As long as we remember.'

She opened her eyes and looked down at Ryoko's face cradled in her arms. All visible traces of any pain she was feeling were gone, and Washu could swear that she saw a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Holding Ryoko in her arms felt so right, it had been so long since she'd been this close to her daughter. So many missed opportunities, so many times she could have comforted her instead of teasing her. All those brief moments of pleasure were nothing compared to this, and all those brief moments came with a lot of guilt later. Then the sad reality of the situation hit her: she would probably never be this close to Ryoko ever again. Their relationship had been patchy at best since they were reunited, but after this Ryoko would walk out of her life for sure. Washu shook her head, she was being selfish, thinking about this when Ryoko was injured. It was this kind of thinking that got her into this mess in the first place. She pushed these thoughts aside and turned her attention back to her daughter.

'I see you liked my song little Ryoko.' She cooed 'I think you're feeling better already. If I knew that singing still worked for you, then I'd do it more often.' She started lightly brushing her hair with her fingers. 'I think you're out of the worst of it. I need to look at my computer to be sure, but I'm not leaving you even for a second.'

Washu sat with Ryoko all night long, she told her about her latest inventions, her current research, all the gossip about the house (that Ryoko probably knew anyway) and anything else she could come up with. Come dawn her voice was hoarse from all the talking. She was drained both physically and emotionally, but it was worth it. For the first time since they'd met again she felt like a real mother, that mere thought of that made her feel warm inside and seemed to somehow reduce her fatigue.

Washu looked down and did her best to stop the tears from flowing. Ryoko would be up soon and this dream would come to an end. For a few moments she just looked at Ryoko in silence, memorising her peaceful face. As if on cue, she started to fidget slightly as she woke up.

Ryoko opened her eyes and saw an unfamiliar sight; the ceiling was about a hundred metres too high, it was metal and had lights at regular intervals. Memories of the night before came back as she realised that only one place she knew could possibly look like this, she turned her head and her suspicions were confirmed. She saw Washu's face, she'd been crying and looked like she might do again at the drop of a hat. She became fully aware of her position as the rest of her body woke up. Washu had her head cradled in her arms like a baby. Immediately she sprang up and jumped off the bed.

'What am I doing here?' She asked harshly, she was obviously angry.

'You hit the shield, you were injured.' Came a soft reply.

Her anger flushed over her face 'Yeah, well I can take care of myself.' She turned to leave. Washu racked her brains for any reason to make her stay, she remembered something and searched through her pockets.

'Wait!' She called.

'What now?' She snapped back, turning back around to find Washu holding out two small pieces of card.

'Tickets for that soccer match, one for you, one for Tenchi.' She forced a weak smile. Ryoko took the tickets in her right hand, examined them casually for a few seconds, then held them up in front of Washu and ripped them in half. Turning back to leave she spoke again, hate dripping from every word 'No thank you.' The response came through their link as well along with a flood of anger just so that there was no misinterpretation. Washu made no more efforts to stop her daughter as she walked out of her lab and out of her life; silent tears ran down her face. She took one last look at the medical area as it was, sighed and called her laptop to reset it. The lights were restored and it looked like a hospital once again. She debated whether or not to turn up for breakfast.

'Can I face the others? Can I face Ryoko? If I don't turn up, it'll look suspicious… I'll go.'

Her mind set, she did her best to remove any traces of tears from her face, calling a damp facecloth from a dimensional pocket. She finished, threw the cloth into another pocket and headed towards the exit. When she reached the door, she took a few moments to regain her composure and shrink back down to her child form. This form always seemed to bolster her emotionally and besides, going out there in her adult form would just arouse suspicion. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through the door to start what was bound to be a long day.

Yay, chapter 5 done. The song Washu sung was Melodies of life from Squaresoft's Final Fantasy IX. I chopped out the second verse because I didn't think that it fit well. It's a love song but I think it does okay as a kind of lullaby. The lyrics were taken from www.animelyrics.com.