The Prodigal Son

by The Great El Dober

Sequel to ‘For Reasons That Escape Me’ but there is a short summary explaining all you need to know. There is a new threat to Washu and Ryoko’s relationship but this time it is very different. Does Ryoko have any real right to put a stop to it or is

4. Realisation

I don't own Tenchi Muyo.

The Prodigal Son

By The Great El Dober

Chapter Four

Birds danced on the soft breeze, sunrays streamed like ribbons through the ocean blue sky and petals rained from the blossoming trees. This planet was so beautiful, so alive and full of nature's colours.

Hono let a joyful admiration flow through him as he watched it all. How long had it been? When was the last time that he had this opportunity? To just stand and absorb some wondrous scenery. To appreciate a raw nature stripped of ghastly technologies and polluting constructions. How long since he had been a part of it?

Too long.

But that would all change now. His long search was now over and he could finally leave his past behind him. He could settle down again and enjoy life without any pressures or yearnings. Yes, now he could finally . . .

Wait! That sound! A shrill chirping scream. Where was it coming from?

With his body jolting into a defensive stance, his eyes dart towards the source of this unworldly sound. To his surprise and alarm he finds . . .

. . . a bird.

He watched the small bird as it writhed and struggled under the restraining wire mesh that clung to it's wings, pinning it, suffocating it, keeping it from it's rightful place in the sky.

His suspicious mind eased into a heartfelt sympathy and a stirring compassion. This was not something that his heart could let be.

He approached the fallen creature with gentle footsteps. His powerful hands reached slowly towards the defenceless creature with a fluid smoothness and carefully removed the obstructing mesh with a cautious care. He took the fallen bird in his hands and stroked it gently with an almost motherly touch, smoothing out its ruffled feathers. Then, with a personal pleasure, he opened his hands, released his gentle grip on the poor animal and watched in awe and admiration as the once captive bird flew with a joyous freedom, climbing the scales of the afternoon air, diving through the currents of the pure nature's breeze, back where it belonged.

He smiled.

Yes, soon these pleasures would be his forever.

Soon.

Elsewhere

She felt like she was dying inside and she didn't even have a life of her own to flash before her eyes.

Everything that she had ever believed in had just been exposed as a cruel lie. Nothing had ever belonged to her, it had all belong to him. Her mother wasn't really her mother, no, Washu was his mother first and foremost. Ryoko had just borrowed the position of 'Washu's child' in his absence but it had never been intended to her, it had never been her's.

Her friends weren't really her's, she didn't deserve them. They would end up liking him more than they could ever like her, it was only a matter of time until he took back what was rightfully his.

It was only a matter of time until he left her stripped of everything that had ever meant anything to her and she couldn't do a thing, she had no right to it.

It hurt, these thoughts twisted in her mind like brutal thorns of truth as she sat and cried on the cold, chilled stone that lay underneath her sobbing form with a hostile, coarse uncomfort. It seemed like the whole world was turning on her, even the mindless ground hated her. She just sat there as tears bled from her eyes, as she stared yearningly up into the afternoon sky as the world passed her by.

She sat separated, removed from it all in her prison of shallow shadows, just like the shadow she had been living her whole life in. His shadow. She had cried for hours now, she had cried until it hurt but she couldn't stop, her body wouldn't comply. Maybe not even that was her's anymore.

So she just sat on the brittle ground crying thorns from her eyes, her mind smothered in suffering as her soul contorted and choked in the pit of her stomach. Yes, her broken soul convulsed and bled away on the floor, slipping in it's own blood, drowning in it's own tears, suffocating in it's own pleas.

Yes, it was horrid, but it was how she felt.

Dead.

No, worse than that. She had never even been alive. Washu had just clung to her as if she was the corpse of her lost son. She was just a vessel for memories of someone else. She had just been a corpse, empty of life, void of purpose, just an empty shell of someone that was now gone.

But at least then she had held a purpose. What did she have now?

Nothing.

Masaki Shrine

"Looking for me?"

A startled Hono twists round to face the voice. He was confronted with an aged face that was worn with time and wisdom but still held a vibrant and playful grin that was full of life and mischief. Exactly who he was looking for.

"Yes Lord Katsuhito," he replied with a small bow, "I have come to make a request."

"A request you say?" the old man asked in a curious voice, "I'm not sure what I could possibly have to offer but you may ask."

"I wish to test my skills against you. I have travelled far and developed my swordplay skills in many forms," Hono explained, not in a boasting way but more like an interviewee listing their previous achievements in search of acceptance, "I have even won many contests and tournaments however never before have I had the opportunity to face such a prestigious adversary and it would be foolish for me not to seek the honour."

"Prestigious? Honour?" Katsuhito laughed, "I think you have been misled. I am only a mere old shrine keeper."

"Please Lord Yosho," Hono responded, "You are among the most elite and legendry swordfighters in history and still far from old."

Lord Yosho? How does he know? Katsuhito thought, I thought I told the others not to reveal my true identity to him. Someone must have betrayed my trust. But wait, he said far from old. Could it be that . . .

"I have to say that I am most impressed," the old man replied, "Not even my own sisters could see through my guise. How were you able to?"

"Experience," Hono replied with a small smile, "After roaming the seas of space for so long you often see such things."

"I see," the old man replied, somewhat sceptically, "Well you have intrigued me so I will spar with you."

Washu's lab

Washu stands back and admires her work as she revelled not only in her own genius but more importantly what the scene in front of her represented.

A family.

Tears began to well up in her eyes as she stood in the most hidden, secluded and private part of her lab, her house. It had a whole dimension to itself and stood surrounded but acres of land carpeted in luscious grass and cherry blossoms. Ryoko had loved growing up here.

And Washu had very careful to remember that fact. While adding space for Hono she had also restored Ryoko's old rooms that had been ravaged and destroyed in events she was still trying to forget. But now Ryoko could finally move back in as well. They could all be a family.

Living together, yes that might actually solve the problems between them. It would bridge the cold sense of distance between them and teach them to accept each other as family.

But on a personal level it was far more than that for Washu, it was the realisation of her dreams, to have a family once again. It was the only thing that still mattered to her, not intellectual glory or scientific achievement, if that had mattered so much then she would have long since left to rejoin the science academy, but all of that now took second place to her children and now after so long they were both back.

And soon they would all be under one roof, together, always. Her thoughts swam in the joyous possibilities as her whole heart rejoiced in her delight.

All that remained was to tell them.

Now, she knew that Hono had left to go see the shrine. She couldn't really blame him, her alterations had taken far longer than expected. She herself would have gladly gotten bored and left half way through if she could have.

Then there was Ryoko. Where was she? Last thing Washu could remember was Ryoko asking funny questions across the link. Oh well she just make a small check across the link to see if her little Ryoko would . . . .

"Argh!" Washu screamed as she fell to knees, immediately closing the link back down and barring Ryoko's excruciating thoughts from her mind. It was terrible, it had felt like a thousand demons marching across the link with bloodthirsty thoughts and brutal force.

And they were still inside her daughter's mind, waging war, pillaging, devastating everything. Such pain. Such suffering. Such complete and utter despair. What was wrong? Why would Little Ryoko be feeling such destructive emotions? What could possibly cause this? Washu had always known that Ryoko's mind state was somewhat fragile but what had caused this delicate house of cards to come tumbling down, trapping Ryoko's spirits in the rubble. What had gone wrong?

She had to find out. She had to make it better.

She had to find Ryoko.

Masaki Shrine

Interesting. Very, very interesting.

Hono was truly a skilled swordsman, it was the first time in years that Katsuhito had felt his abilities being pushed near their limits. The two swordsmen stepped through their defences and attacks as if it was a well choreographed ballet. Their skill and timing was breathtaking.

But not interesting.

What really interested the old man was the unusual conversation that developed during the fight. Now it wasn't the talking that intrigued him, many swordfighters used discussion to distract their opponents, it was one of Katsuhito's favourite techniques to use on Tenchi, but what really interested him was the subject of the conversation.

"I've heard of your many battles Lord Yosho, perhaps you could share them with me," Hono asked in mid-thrust, "I would be especially interested to hear of how you defeated Ryoko."

"With a sword," Katsuhito replied, cryptic and vague as ever.

"Indeed," Hono responded in a friendly but obviously unamused voice, "but surely you had techniques and strategies. As a swordsman myself I would be honoured to learn from your wisdom."

"Very well," Katsuhito began, too absorbed with the duel to fully consider what he was doing, "It all came down to skill and knowledge. I knew that Ryoko's gems held all of her power so all I needed to do was remove them . . ."

Then something finally clicked in the old man's head.

"Why do you want to know anyway?" he asked bluntly then carefully watched for Hono's response.

"Merely intrigued," Hono replied quickly, a bit too quickly for Katsuhito's liking but it was in the middle of a duel so such things could be forgiven, "It wasn't so much the battle but the gems that interest me. What more could you tell me of them."

"They give great power to their owner," Katsuhito explained, seeing no problem in divulging such widespread knowledge, "Tenchi-ken and Ryoko hold all of the gems between them and both are extremely powerful."

"How many gems does Ryoko have?" Hono asked, once again arousing a little bit of concern in the old man's mind. Why would he be asking so many technical questions about Ryoko?

"Why not ask her yourself," Katsuhito offered, pointing to the shrine steps.

Hono whisked around in a startled shock like a small boy caught with his hands in the cookie jar. Was Ryoko here? What if she had heard him? What would happen then? He turned around, expecting to see an angry and hurt expression only to see . . . .

. . . . nothing.

Except for his bokken flying out of his hands.

Katsuhito smiled as another successful deception won him yet another sparring session. It had been close, he had almost been worried for a while but in the end he had prevailed and all that remained was for him to execute his well-practiced victory swing and bestow the ceremonial bop on the head.

His bokken cut a path through the air, swooping down onto the startled Hono with a lethal velocity before it . . . .

. . . . slivered, dividing away into nothing.

There, emanating from Hono's hand, blocking the path of Katsuhito's strike was a brilliant orange blade.

A light sword, the old man observed, its exactly like the one Ryoko forms. Must be a technique passed down to both of them from Washu.

"My apologies," Hono excused with a deep bow as he immediately extinguished his light sword, "It is a reflex reaction, I never meant to endanger you like that."

"Very well," Katsuhtio forgave, "but to answer your previous question there is something further that I know about Ryoko's gems and I think it is something you will find most interesting . . . ."

Ryoko's cave

Washu's sprinting steps stopped dead as her heart shattered in sorrowful witness of the sight before her. Seeing this hurt her more than any insult or assault ever could.

Her treasured daughter lay there, slumped like a discarded doll as her drained body drooped on the serrated rock face below her. Her body lay lifelessly still except for struggling sobs as they jolted her body with the force and pain of electricity.

"Ryoko?" Washu gasped in a horrified, worried shock, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Washu knew that if she reopened the link then she would be doubtlessly attacked by all the negative emotions that were plaguing her daughter, she would be opening up a path for all those sadistic demons to troop back into her mind, but it was a risk that she was willing to take. She quickly opened it to find a flimsy barrier that Ryoko had set up. She also noticed that Ryoko's sobs were becoming quieter and more contained.

Ryoko was trying to mask her pain from Washu. As much as she wanted her mother to comfort her, she now had to face up the fact that Washu was no longer her mother, now that Hono was back Washu would only want to be Ryoko's creator, if any at all.

So Ryoko had to try and put a brave face on this. She had suffered enough humiliation, she didn't want the shame of being seen in a state like this.

As she tried to push her desire for her mother out of her mind, Ryoko felt a soft hand come down onto her shoulder and touch her with a gentle solace.

But she stayed perfectly still, not even acknowledging the gesture. She didn't know what to do, she was so torn between two very strong and opposing forces in her mind. There was her yearning to be back in Washu's arms and to feel comforted and loved, her yearning to be Washu's daughter once more. Then there was the devastating truth that had plunged her mind into a deep woeful distress and rotted away at her soul.

"Little Ryoko, show me what's wrong," Washu pleaded in a soft voice, "I want to help but I can't if you won't show me."

Should I? Ryoko thought as she desperately tried to maintain her crumbling seal on the link. Did it really matter? She knew that she couldn't hold up the block against such pressure forever, she wasn't sure if she could even hold it for another five minutes. No matter what she did now, Washu was going to find out in the end anyway.

And wasn't that what she wanted anyway, to be comforted. Isn't that why she had fled to her cave in her time of need? This was where Tenchi had come in times of distress, this is where he had come when he had lost his mother and Ryoko had comforted him then. Now that Ryoko felt that she had lost her own mother wasn't that why she had returned here, in the hope of being comforted.

Besides it was so hard to maintain the barrier. Ryoko's mind was assaulted with headaches from the sheer strain of trying to block such overwhelming thoughts and feelings. Should she just let it all cave in?

She did. She finally relented and let the blockade disintegrate away, revealing her thoughts and feelings across the link.

"Replacement!" Washu screeched in horror. She immediately heaved Ryoko's unmoving form up from the cold ground and embraced her daughter with a strong, protective ferocity. Ryoko just let her head hang limply on Washu's shoulder as she began to cry more tears.

"Oh, don't ever think that my Little Ryoko," Washu soothed, as she ran gentle fingers through Ryoko's cyan strands of hair, "You were never a replacement and I still love you as much as ever."

"Really?" Ryoko asked in a very subdued, humble voice.

"Of course," Washu smiled with an compassionate enthusiasm as she eased her daughter's head back so that she could look her daughter straight in her raw eyes that had been stained and strained with tears, "Ryoko with the technology I have I could have easily created a clone or at the very least guaranteed that I had another boy, but I didn't."

"But what's going to happen?" Ryoko asked in a fraught voice that conveyed her despair, "What will happen now that he is back?"

"I've built him a room in my lab," Washu began. She felt Ryoko squirm and struggle to get away, obviously hurt that Washu would do such a thing, that she would show such preference to him over her but Washu held her steady to make sure that she heard the rest, "I also rebuilt your rooms Ryoko. They were destroyed by Kagato and until now I never even went back into them never mind thought of rebuilding them. I've being avoiding the issue, it probably wasn't the right thing to do but it still hurts me to think about that day. But that's all in the past, I'm now looking to the future and I still want you to be a very big part of it."

"So I was wrong then?" Ryoko asked in an apprehensive hope, "Was everything I thought wrong?"

"Ryoko I'll be honest," she continued in a gentle sincerity, "When I lost Hono there was a gap in my life, it was a hole in my heart but that hole was always there, I never made you to fill it Ryoko."

"Then why?" Ryoko asked in a timid voice as if she feared the answers to her meekly asked questions, "Why did you create me , . . .Mom?"

Washu cringed at hearing Ryoko use the word 'create' and far more importantly at Ryoko's hesitation to call her 'Mom'. That would never do, Ryoko should feel comfortable to approach her mother but now was not the time to deal with it. Just now she had a question to answer.

"Because I was lonely," Washu replied sincerely, "I wanted someone to love and someone to love me back. I wanted someone that would bring me happiness."

"Did I?" Ryoko shyly asked in a very faint-hearted and hesitant tone, not really sure that she wanted to learn the answer to her question.

"Of course you did," Washu replied warmly, strengthening her hold on her daughter for warm emphasis, "You brought more happiness into my life than anything else in 20,000 years. You filled my heart with such joy and pride, and all of that was you, no one else."

No one else, Ryoko thought as her mother's words echoed through her mind, I was wrong. She does love me. Everything's going to be okay.

Her spirits leapt from the ashes like a phoenix and burst in a flame of vibrant, joyous colours. She felt her skipping heart spread its broken wings and soar high with pride and might. Her whole soul seemed to breathe easier as if new blood was flowing through it with a renewed strength and life. It was the most relieving and liberating moment of her life.

She no longer felt the cold, menacing shadows choking her, instead she felt a warm summers sun massaging her face. She closed her eyes to savour it all. The world was no longer punishing, it was radiating all around in a tender beauty. It felt like the dawning of a brand new day.

She had her life back.

"Ryoko," Washu began as through the link she felt her daughter's pain begin to ease. Her voice was still firm and honest but contained a hint of more downhearted emotions. "I know that I'm not always the best of mothers but . . ."

"No Mom!" Ryoko interrupted, not quite believing what she was hearing, "You are, you still love me after everything that I've done, you still . . . ."

"Listen to me Ryoko," Washu interrupted with a burdened voice that was desperate to finish what it had to say, "I am not. I do try but sometimes our past or complications get in the way. I might not always know the right thing to say, I might not always realise everything when I should but I will always love you."

She gently took Ryoko's hand and lifted her wrist up to eye level to bring a shimmering red jewel into view.

"Do you remember when I gave you this?" Washu asked.

"Because you're my daughter," Washu had told her that fateful day, "you're not a machine or a creation. You're my daughter and you mean more to me than anyone else. In my eyes, you are the only one who is worthy."

"You were the only one that I considered worthy," Washu reminded, "And anytime that I ever slip up and you feel hurt or upset then just look at your gem and remember that you are worthy. You are worthy of my love."

Ryoko's heart was now alight with joy and glee sending her mind into a light-headed happiness. Washu smiled contently as she felt the elation that flowed like a passionate stream from Ryoko's mind. It was heart-warming.

Ryoko felt joy and relief but there was something else as well, something at the foundation of it all. Acceptance. She felt accepted in her mother's heart, it was her's now and forever, no one could ever take that from her. This absolute assurance, this complete sense of security provoked a complete change in Ryoko's way of thinking. Perhaps now she could feel confident and comfortable about it and finally do what she should have done in the very beginning.

"Mom," Ryoko finally spoke, "I want to go find him. I want to try and makes things work."

"That would be a very good thing to do," Washu approved with a pleased nod, "I'm very proud of you little Ryoko."

With a faint smile Ryoko left her mother's arms and turned to leave and follow up on her promise. It would be hard to start with but in time, who knows? Perhaps they might . . .

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Washu's voice chorused from behind Ryoko's retreating back. She stopped in her footsteps and phased back over to her mother to fulfil the little habit that had developed between them.

"Thanks Mom," she replied as she lay a small peck on Washu's cheek before phasing away again in search of her brother.

Washu just sighed a content sigh. Yes, it was most definitely rewarding and satisfying. And now with Ryoko's promise to try her best and make things work it seemed as if Washu's dreams were coming true. Her family was coming together. It was wonderful.

Tsunami just sighed a sorrowful sigh. It was terrible.

She had watched it all in an invisible form and she had felt the joy and hope that had graced both her sister and niece. She had watched them both share a tender closeness and fill each other with a fresh hope, completely unaware that this was only the eye of the storm.

The worst was yet to come.

Elsewhere

"Excuse me," she called, "Hono, I want to talk to you."

He turned around to face his sister. His expression wasn't it's normal friendly, gentle kindness but instead seemed to convey elements of anger, possibly even hate, as he remained lethally silent. He must still be upset about earlier, Ryoko guessed.

"Erm, well this is the first time we've had a chance to talk," Ryoko hesitantly began, "Alone that is."

Hono took a quick glance around, surveying the surroundings to confirm whether or not they were all alone.

They were.

"Yes," he sneered coldly as he formed a light sword, "It is."

End Of Chapter Four

Next Chapter - How will Washu react when things take a very sinister turn for the worse? What is the hidden truth that lies behind it all?

Note - The reference to Washu giving Ryoko the gems and being 'worthy' comes from chapter six of 'For Reasons That Escape Me.' About Hono being able to form a light sword, I saw Washu do it against Dr.Clay so decided that this would make sense. As for Hono's actions towards the end I will explain that in the next chapter so if you feel disappointed then please wait until the end of the chapter before casting your final verdict.