SHATTERED MIRROR
Part 8: The Bird, Chains, and Mistakes
by Emily Koh
--
DISCLAIMER: "Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki" is (c) 1992, AIC and Pioneer Ltd. I don't own it. "Shattered Mirror" is (c) 2000-2001, Emily "Mink" Koh (mink249@aol.com). Do not repost elsewhere without permission.
Sponsored by caffeine, Orikasa Ai CDs, and by crappy text programs. :)
---
"So, Kiyone-dono. Who did you say your partner was?"
"Mari. Amanogawa Mari," Kiyone replied grimly to the red-haired scientist. "And yes, she constantly gets cracks about her name."
"One would assume." Washu cleared her throat.
She and Kiyone had followed Sasami eagerly to be dispatched on the ships that she would lend them to their locations. Tenchi had decided that he would leave after everything had been sorted out, and Washu didn't blame him: he needed some time to figure out the mess that he had unconsciously created.
// Simply by being the charming person he is -- what a shame, // she thought, and felt a twinge of sympathy for him. Well, at least he wasn't a womanizer -- he was just a human chick magnet. She chuckled at the idea, and to this day, she couldn't find out what was so charming about Tenchi anyway.
In truth, Washu hadn't planned on leaving: and this was a decoy, she realized. She knew that Sasami knew too. Her plan was to interrogate Kiyone. What had that riddle been? Oh, yes.
// "Capture the bird that constantly flees -- and break all the handcuffs that she is chained within. " //
Well, obviously, the imminent connection to "handcuffs" had led Washu to believe that this "bird" was either Mihoshi or Kiyone, both of them being Galaxy Police officers. And the description fit Kiyone perfectly: Kiyone was always trying to escape things; the craziness of her home, Mihoshi's carelessness -- everything that was abnormal in her life. She was still trying to work out the handcuffs part.
She scowled. She /hated/ riddles. After this was done, she was going to have a long chat with Sasami about riddles.
Washu scratched her head. Funny. She couldn't remember how she had gotten the riddles. Through Sasami, yes -- but how had Sasami known about the situation? It confused her, and she felt like there was a hole in her memory. Nevertheless, she knew it was for a good reason, and didn't probe the subject any further.
"Where is Sasami-chan?" Kiyone said impatiently, tapping her foot. "Headquarters must be getting really worried about where I am." She paused, and looked at Washu curiously from the corner of her eye.
" . . . Uh, sorry we kidnapped you?" Washu said, shrugging. "Besides, it was necessary."
"Necessary?" Kiyone scoffed. "For what? This big happy family reunion?"
"Certainly!" Washu piped up.
"Real happy, I'd say. Yeah, we really hit it off," Kiyone said, frowning. "Are you totally blind to what's happening, Washu-san? Our family's foundation has crumbled."
"The foundation to our family was trust," Washu said through gritted teeth. "And our love for each other. Somehow, all of us lost our perception of those two words, and got all jumbled up. That is what happened."
Kiyone sat silently, and Washu wanted to kick herself. She wasn't supposed to be lecturing Kiyone! She was supposed to be solving this damn riddle that Sasami had given her, and get this over and done with --
// I'm sounding like Kiyone-dono myself. Listen to me, trying to get things done and over with. I don't want to deal with the mess, either. None of us do. //
She sighed.
// Someone has got to do the dirty work. And if everyone else is chickening out... then it's a job for Washu-chan! // she thought with her trademark vigor.
"So, Kiyone-dono," Washu said leisurely. "While we're waiting for Sasami to fix and pick out those ships for our departures, how about we talk?" Seeing Kiyone's confused face, she said calmly, "Well, I'm guessing we're not going to see each other again. For a while anyway." She cackled appropriately.
Kiyone frowned. "Sure, why not," she murmured in a dull voice, obviously not interested. "Throw anything at me."
Washu racked her brain. She hadn't been expecting this sort of response: she had thought that Kiyone would at least give her a clue about what her "handcuffs" were. Something that Kiyone wanted to break free from. Something that would --
"What? You want to talk about Mihoshi, right?" Kiyone said, after a long sigh.
Washu nearly snapped her fingers. "That's it! Of course!" she said, and seeing Kiyone's odd look, she laughed it off. "Eh... yes, anyway, about Mihoshi-dono."
"I don't hate her, Washu-san," Kiyone said softly. "I don't know if she knows that. I don't know if anyone else knows that."
The red-haired scientist bit her lip. "We know you don't hate her. Or anyone else. But... you've been pretty cold to her. It's not like she did anything in the past to you. In fact, I think Mihoshi-san is the only person who wasn't effected in the past that much. I mean, Aeka-dono and Sasami-chan got affected of the Jurain rule ordeal. Ryoko-chan and you got involved in this because of the whole GP legal thing. Me? I'm Ryoko-chan's mother, thus explaining my role. Tenchi-dono is connected to /all/ of us, so there's where he comes in. But what about Mihoshi-dono? No... we've pretty much ignored her."
"But that's where you're wrong! All of you are -- don't you see?" Kiyone said, frustrated. "She's effected too! Because she's touched us all. Mihoshi -- well, Mihoshi is very happy-go-lucky. We all know that. And... I don't think she's experienced true loss. I've managed to shatter that family image that she has always desired."
"Kiyone-dono..."
"Did you know that she was raised by her grandparents? She didn't know her real parents. Her grandfather was the chief of the Galaxy Police. But since he was away so much, she didn't spend time with him often -- when she did, it was not enough. And her grandmother got sick early in her life. Currently in a coma -- and Mihoshi can't bear to visit her."
Washu gazed at Kiyone sympathetically. Kiyone carried Mihoshi's life, too. She had to look out of Mihoshi, she had to act on behalf for her, make sure she didn't get in trouble --
It suddenly began to click. "Ah," Washu said softly.
"What's 'ah'?" Kiyone said suspiciously, looking up from her own nostalgia.
Washu paused, unsure how to say it, but decided to take a stab at it anyway.
"Why do you carry Mihoshi-dono's burdens?"
Kiyone scowled almost immediately. "It's not like I have a choice," she protested angrily. "That girl is going to get herself killed. She worries about her parents, she's always --"
"You care about her very much, don't you?" Washu interrupted softly.
Kiyone sat, stunned. "I... I...," she stammered.
"But... it doesn't mean you should look out for her 24/7. Granted, Mihoshi-dono should be watched -- but the rest of us has always thought of you as 'Mihoshi-dono's babysitter.'" Washu pursed her lips. "We haven't given any other thought to you otherwise -- who else has the guts to watch over Mihoshi-dono, anyway?"
The two chuckled weakly. "But... don't force yourself to watch over her. Mihoshi-dono is an adult; she just has her rather clumsy results." Washu made a face. "But... we should all look out of her her. But don't sweat it because she's /very/ lucky," Washu said, facefaulting. "It's a wonder she hasn't gotten killed now."
"True," Kiyone said, smiling.
Silence swarmed the area, and Washu thought hard. What was another "handcuff"? Something that made Kiyone guilty, she assumed. Something that she was chained to and couldn't escape at the moment --
"Kiyone?"
A timid voice greeted them as Mihoshi walked in nervously. "Kiyone, don't go! Come back with us to Earth -- you too, Washu-san! We can get our family back; we can all live happily ever after --"
"Our life wasn't a fairy tale. So no 'happily ever after's,'" Kiyone nearly snapped.
Determined, Mihoshi shook her head. "It /was/ a fairy tale! But every... every tale has its problems. And it gets resolved at the end. So we can all go back --"
"Not to the way it was," Kiyone growled.
Washu got up, clearing her throat. "Well. You know what, I think I'm going to wait... a bit. Until Sasami gets my ship. It'll be pointless to be waiting here -- and who knows, maybe I will change my mind," she winked at Mihoshi.
She turned to leave, then tilted her head back. "Oh, and Kiyone-dono."
"Yes?"
"We all know you didn't do it. And... Ryoko-chan knows that. She's just hardheaded." With that, Washu stifled a chuckle and left the room, leaving Kiyone and Mihoshi together.
---
Ryo-ohki peered her head in the room. Sasami-chan, she noted, as not here. Where was her friend? It was only Kiyone and Mihoshi. Heaving a sigh, she cutely scratched her head and stepped out of the room, pondering where the blue-haired princess had vanished to.
Back in the lounge room just moments ago, Tenchi had suggested that Ryo-ohki go and find Sasami and maybe catch up. Of course, Ryo-ohki was aware that it was a plan to get both Ryoko and Aeka alone so he could talk with them. She facefaulted, thinking of all the ways that Tenchi could hurt himself in that situation, and considered going back.
Then she couldn't see.
"Miyaaaa---!" she screeched in alarm, flailing wildly.
Behind her, Sasami carefully removed her hands from the cabbit's eyes, and smiled. "You had to guess who it was!" she said childishly, smiling. Her tone seemed so odd, coming out of a young woman like her. The transformation scared Ryo-ohki. Where was the little girl who had been her playmate? She drew back.
A hurt look passed on Sasami's face. "Ryo-chan?" she said softly, then understood. "I see." She bit her lip. "It's still me, Ryo-chan. I just look different -- but I'm still the same underneath. Tsunami and I... just because we merged doesn't mean I'm gone."
Ryo-ohki was not convinced, and she cast her eyes down. From what she knew, Tsunami was a goddess. She had to pay proper respect to her -- whether she was with Sasami or not. Ryoko had always sneered about Tsunami, but hadn't it been Tsunami who had saved Ryoko's life? Or had it been Sasami? Frustrated, she clasped her head.
Sasami crouched to Ryo-ohki's height; her voice begging, coaxing. "Ryo-chan," she said softly, "please? We're still friends, aren't we?"
"Miya." The reply was adamant and questioning: "Are we?"
The princess shifted uncomfortably; a guilty look on her face. "I know... I know that... that I didn't give you a second thought when I left Earth. But by then, you were already gone with Ryoko-oneechan -- I would have loved to take you back with me! Or at least say goodbye."
"Miya miya miya!" Ryo-ohki said rather sharply: "We met when you saved Ryoko!"
"That's true..." Sasami sighed. "But I was being selfish."
Ryo-ohki blinked. Selfish? She hadn't thought that would count into the equation...
Her friend laughed humorlessly. "You know, when I told Oneesama I'd take her place here, I thought I was seriously doing it for the right thing. But... me? I just wanted to stop being the girl that everyone thought of as the 'cheerful girl.' Everyone came to me with their problems. 'Oh, Sasami-chan, what should I do?' Always thinking I'm smiling. But underneath that smile... there's so much more!"
Ryo-ohki frowned. "Miya?"
"Yes." Sasami paused. "Like being out of Oneesama's shadow. I want to be known other than being 'Princess Aeka's little sister,' or 'the Masaki household's superb chef.' I want a new identity. My real self."
She sighed, then looked at Ryo-ohki. "You're the only one I trust with this, Ryo-chan. I don't consider anyone else as good as a friend you are. You and I -- we understand each other. We don't need words or anything: we just know what's going on. Right?" She smiled sadly. "Dakara..."
Ryo-ohki studied her. // Sasami-chan is Sasami-chan, // she thought. // It doesn't matter if she looks like a goddess... //
She embraced her friend tightly.
---
"I'm taking a walk," Ryoko announced curtly to the near-empty room.
"I'll come!" Tenchi offered quickly, getting up. And then he bit his lip, quickly checking with Aeka. She smiled sadly, nodding her consent, and he felt guilty. But Ryoko saved him.
"No, Tenchi. You're staying here," she said tightly. "I'm going to take a walk by /myself/."
"But -- we need to talk --"
"We'll talk when I get back," Ryoko said. "Not now."
Something in her voice made him stop, and he watched her walk out of the conference room quickly. He sighed, and sat by Aeka. "Aeka-san... I... um..." He scratched his head. "This may not be the best time to tell you."
The princess looked up curiously at him. "What? That you chose between us?" she said calmly, as if he was stating the weather.
Tenchi blinked. "Uh... yeah. How did you know?"
"Let's just say I have a knack for finding these things out," Aeka said simply, and she gave him a half-smile. "But... you don't need to tell me." She paused. "Isn't it obvious?"
Tenchi flushed. "I... uh..." He groped for some words to come at, but couldn't think of any, and silently cursed at himself. // Dammit, Tenchi! Why are you so uptight around women? Especially now? You've lived with them long enough... //
"And you don't have to apologize," Aeka said softly. "Maybe I should."
// Huh? //
"For what?" Tenchi said in surprise.
"For being a burden. Staying at your home. Demanding that you pick between Ryoko-san and I," she murmured. "All this strain on you. All this pressure. And to think... I knew who you loved since a long time ago. And yet I kept fighting; thinking I had a chance. But... now I know. Love... love is so --" Her voice caught in her throat abruptly.
Tenchi took her hand, grasping it reassuringly. "It's okay," he said softly.
"That love...," Aeka tried to continue, and cleared her throat. She was /not/ going to cry in front of him. "Love. Well, once there's true love -- you can't change that. I was so silly, not knowing that. Kept trying, when I knew the real results." Her eyes gently met with Tenchi's and she broke away quickly. "That... that day... when you and I -- well, when everyone left Earth --"
Tenchi blushed. "We weren't thinking," he said quickly.
"You're right. We weren't -- and that wasn't love. That was a selfish, immature thing for me to do. You did nothing wrong," Aeka said quietly. "And I guess... I'll never know real love."
"That's not true!" Tenchi protested. "What you had for me --" Here, he flushed again, "-- wasn't that love? Real love?"
"Yes, but..."
"Just because it wasn't reciprocated doesn't mean your feelings weren't real love... does it? I know how much you cared, Aeka-san. I'll never forget it," he told her. "But you shouldn't give up on finding love."
Aeka smiled. "Never."
---
"Please don't go."
Mihoshi's voice was coaxing, begging, pleading. Kiyone couldn't bear to look at her -- she knew that if she did, her mind would be changed. Mihoshi was like a stray puppy, begging to be bought. Kiyone was the naive person who would let herself be fooled by this act.
She wasn't going back. She /couldn't/ go back.
"How can I go back?" she demanded. "After what I did? How can I live with myself? How can you live with me, knowing that I did it?"
"Is that what you believe?" Mihoshi responded quietly. "Do you really believe that you handed Ryoko-san in?"
"No! Wait... yes. Wait." Kiyone kneaded her throbbing temples. /Did/ she believe that? Had she really done it? No! She had tried to protect Ryoko --
"Kiyone... no one believes you did that to Ryoko-san." She paused. "I don't think Ryoko-san believes that either."
"Oh, yeah? That explains why she's after my neck," Kiyone said sarcastically.
"We all need someone to blame!" Mihoshi wailed. "And... no one said we wanted to turn to you. It's just a natural response, I guess." She shrugged. "But I /never/ doubted you for a second, Kiyone! We're partners! I know you inside and out."
"You know /me/?" Kiyone scoffed, but a smile played on her lips. "I thought you were either too busy watching silly TV shows or pigging on food that you wouldn't notice anything about me except that I'd drag you around nad make sure you did your job or that you didn't get killed."
"Well, I /know/ you hate tardiness," Mihoshi piped. "And... you can't stand my TV shows. And you love promotions."
Kiyone grinned. "Well, that's true."
"You think of Tenchi-san as your little brother. Sometimes, you think you're like the only normal one in our family and you think you're the 'oldest sister,' making sure her siblings don't do something crazy and stupid."
Kiyone blinked. "I never told you that," she said, surprised.
"I /know/ so. See?" Mihoshi said smugly. "I know you, Kiyone! And I /know/ you didn't do what it looks like you did. Sometimes, you act like promotions are the most important thing in the world --"
"But I learned," Kiyone interrupted softly. "When I came to live with you guys on Earth."
"Sou," Mihoshi agreed. "Dakara... ikanaide. Please don't go. I... we... we all miss you. And Ryoko-san. And Washu-san. And Sasami-chan. Come back! It's not the same."
"No one thinks I did it -- but I do," Kiyone interjected. "So how does that work out, huh? I'll live with the guilt for the rest of my life."
"But you tried to save Ryoko-san," Mihoshi pointed out. "Right? And... maybe you just weren't lucky at that time. Everything's meant to happen for a reason -- that's what my Obaachan used to say."
"'Happen for a reason,' huh?" Kiyone repeated. "Hmm..."
"So please. Just stay with us on Earth," Mihoshi said.
"But what about Mari?" Kiyone pointed out. "She got hurt by Ryoko --"
Mistake.
Mihoshi looked away, cringing. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm being so selfish. I forgot you established a new life. Here, in space. A new partner, a great job... and I'm just trying to ruin it for you. I always do." She sighed, getting up. "I'm sorry... I even said anything." Hands in her pockets, Mihoshi stepped out of the room.
"Wait, Mihoshi --"
Defeated, Kiyone sighed, putting her head in her hands. // No one thinks I did... but I know. But is Mihoshi right? Is that klutz right for once? // She scowled darkly, then sighed. // But I... I want to go back. I miss everyone. I still care about them all -- even Ryoko-san. I thought she was the enemy... but she isn't. //
// "Feelings last for a while, but not forever, Kiyone. You're clinging to your past. What good will that do to you? You're hoping for some miracle? Fine, then take action!" //
Mari's words rang in her head, from back on their ship earlier.
// Sou. Nothing will happen if I don't take action... and feelings don't last for a while. They're always there -- they may change, but they don't vanish! // Kiyone thought grimly.
// "You're hoping for some miracle? Fine, then take action!" //
// Action...? //
// "Then take action!" //
Kiyone got up, and begin to run after Mihoshi.
// Clinging to a past... it'll do me no good just sitting here, waiting to be invited back. I have to do something... make up for it. Try to create a miracle. //
---
Ryoko sighed, walking back towards the conference room, a scowl on her face. She had tried to get into some isolated room and sit by herself but Jurain guards seemed to be just about everywhere and studying her suspiciously. She had guaranteed them that if she wanted to try to kill the royal family, she would have done so already, and that certainly hadn't pleased them, and she smirked at the memory.
"Ara, Ryoko-chan."
She cringed at the voice, and stopped, not turning around. "What is it?" she asked in a very exasperated tone of voice.
"I was hoping to find you here."
The red scientist bounded up by Ryoko, keeping up with her pace. "And I thought you were talking with Tenchi-dono and Aeka-dono?"
"Those two?" Ryoko scoffed. "They're probably --" Her fists clenched up tightly, and froze in the hallway. Washu stopped ahead of her, looking back curiously. "Nothing," Ryoko finished with a sigh. "Nothing."
Washu sighed. // Well, if talking isn't the way in... //
They walked together in silence, going back to the conference room.
Soooo... I see. You think Tenchi-dono picked Aeka-dono, Washu prodded in Ryoko's mind. Her daughter stopped again, her eyes bugging out, ready to kill the short person next to her, and simply clenched her jaw, refusing to cooperate.
Get out of my head, she snapped back.
Oh? You think I'm going to leave *that* easily? Washu said sternly. Without even a 'bye' to your dear mama, you leave Earth. Tsk, tsk.
My *MAMA*? Ryoko nearly roared in Washu's head, and she winced. You must be joking. Let me count the ways -- I'm the result of a test tube subject. You're so reckless that I get kidnapped by your own student and I'm used as a murder machine. And let's face it, you haven't exactly "helped" me out on Earth, either. And when I tried to contact you from my ship, you're obviously "not available."
... What do you mean, tried to contact me? Washu suddenly inquired.
"Forget it," Ryoko said out loud, standing outside the conference room, having arrived.
"No. Tell me. I'm curious."
"I said, 'forget it,'" Ryoko snapped, obviously regretting that she had brought it up. She opened the door to the conference room slightly, and was visibly upset to see that Tenchi and Aeka were still talking, but made no move.
"... and Aeka-san, I love you --"
// ... ?! //
"Ryo-Ryoko-chan?!" Washu called after her daughter as Ryoko teleported out of sight.
Startled by Washu's voice, both Tenchi and Aeka quickly rose to their feet. "Wa-Washu-san?!" Tenchi asked. "What's wrong?!"
Aeka swallowed tightly.
// This is for the best -- there is always a winner and a loser. //
"Tenchi-sama," she said softly, "I think Ryoko-san heard us -- but it's better if you go talk to her," she said quietly. "Today. Not later. Now."
Tenchi stared at her for a long moment -- almost guiltily.
"Don't feel guilty," Aeka said calmly. "Remember... we both drove you up to it."
Tenchi swallowed. "Demo..."
Aeka shook her head, taking Tenchi's hand reassuringly.
"It's for the best."
---
EPISODE TEASER:
Tenchi: Somehow, we're not as hostile anymore. Mihoshi-san and Kiyone-san seem to have found out their differences. And it looks like we've been able to solve this huge mystery. But what will happen to our family now...?
Next time, on Shattered Mirror: "Goodbye Forever."
Ryoko, ore wa...
---
AUTHOR's NOTES:
The fact is, this is the one chapter I'm really displeased with -- you may think otherwise, but I've lately been cowering in this writer's block period. _; Have been, for that matter. Excuse the shoujo-esque stuff you might sense in this entire chapter; I've been working on several "Sakura Taisen" fanfics and influences may have carried over.
I personally thought the scene changes were abrupt and not fluid. Or that may just be me... shrug You can see it any way you like. All I'm trying to do is attempting to get near the conclusion! ^^; And more of the emotional bonding stuff next, too.
What I hate is how Tenchi says, "I picked (insert girl's name here)." Personally, I agree with what Orikasa Ai said in her interview: "I think Tenchi should end up with Sasami because she would make him the happiest (^_^)." He'd be bound into strange Jurain customs with Aeka and his life expectancy would be lowered around Ryoko. So of course there's a drawback. :D But here's the hint: no, he doesn't pick Sasami in "Shattered Mirror." ^_^;
Next chapter may be delayed a bit, as I am concentrating on Sakura Taisen fanfics for the moment.
Side notes:
- "Amanogawa Mari": Eh, more or less tedious wordplay. The word "amanogawa" means "Milky Way."
- Mihoshi's grandma: I'm taking the manga storyline for this one. Found in volume 11 or so, I believe.
- dakara ikanaiade: "Dakara" means "so" or "because." "ikanaide" means "don't go."
- Mari's saying: Please refer to chapter 2/3/4 for this. [Can't remember which...]
Mata ne!
-- Emily Koh
July 19, 2001
Part 8: The Bird, Chains, and Mistakes
by Emily Koh
--
DISCLAIMER: "Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki" is (c) 1992, AIC and Pioneer Ltd. I don't own it. "Shattered Mirror" is (c) 2000-2001, Emily "Mink" Koh (mink249@aol.com). Do not repost elsewhere without permission.
Sponsored by caffeine, Orikasa Ai CDs, and by crappy text programs. :)
---
"So, Kiyone-dono. Who did you say your partner was?"
"Mari. Amanogawa Mari," Kiyone replied grimly to the red-haired scientist. "And yes, she constantly gets cracks about her name."
"One would assume." Washu cleared her throat.
She and Kiyone had followed Sasami eagerly to be dispatched on the ships that she would lend them to their locations. Tenchi had decided that he would leave after everything had been sorted out, and Washu didn't blame him: he needed some time to figure out the mess that he had unconsciously created.
// Simply by being the charming person he is -- what a shame, // she thought, and felt a twinge of sympathy for him. Well, at least he wasn't a womanizer -- he was just a human chick magnet. She chuckled at the idea, and to this day, she couldn't find out what was so charming about Tenchi anyway.
In truth, Washu hadn't planned on leaving: and this was a decoy, she realized. She knew that Sasami knew too. Her plan was to interrogate Kiyone. What had that riddle been? Oh, yes.
// "Capture the bird that constantly flees -- and break all the handcuffs that she is chained within. " //
Well, obviously, the imminent connection to "handcuffs" had led Washu to believe that this "bird" was either Mihoshi or Kiyone, both of them being Galaxy Police officers. And the description fit Kiyone perfectly: Kiyone was always trying to escape things; the craziness of her home, Mihoshi's carelessness -- everything that was abnormal in her life. She was still trying to work out the handcuffs part.
She scowled. She /hated/ riddles. After this was done, she was going to have a long chat with Sasami about riddles.
Washu scratched her head. Funny. She couldn't remember how she had gotten the riddles. Through Sasami, yes -- but how had Sasami known about the situation? It confused her, and she felt like there was a hole in her memory. Nevertheless, she knew it was for a good reason, and didn't probe the subject any further.
"Where is Sasami-chan?" Kiyone said impatiently, tapping her foot. "Headquarters must be getting really worried about where I am." She paused, and looked at Washu curiously from the corner of her eye.
" . . . Uh, sorry we kidnapped you?" Washu said, shrugging. "Besides, it was necessary."
"Necessary?" Kiyone scoffed. "For what? This big happy family reunion?"
"Certainly!" Washu piped up.
"Real happy, I'd say. Yeah, we really hit it off," Kiyone said, frowning. "Are you totally blind to what's happening, Washu-san? Our family's foundation has crumbled."
"The foundation to our family was trust," Washu said through gritted teeth. "And our love for each other. Somehow, all of us lost our perception of those two words, and got all jumbled up. That is what happened."
Kiyone sat silently, and Washu wanted to kick herself. She wasn't supposed to be lecturing Kiyone! She was supposed to be solving this damn riddle that Sasami had given her, and get this over and done with --
// I'm sounding like Kiyone-dono myself. Listen to me, trying to get things done and over with. I don't want to deal with the mess, either. None of us do. //
She sighed.
// Someone has got to do the dirty work. And if everyone else is chickening out... then it's a job for Washu-chan! // she thought with her trademark vigor.
"So, Kiyone-dono," Washu said leisurely. "While we're waiting for Sasami to fix and pick out those ships for our departures, how about we talk?" Seeing Kiyone's confused face, she said calmly, "Well, I'm guessing we're not going to see each other again. For a while anyway." She cackled appropriately.
Kiyone frowned. "Sure, why not," she murmured in a dull voice, obviously not interested. "Throw anything at me."
Washu racked her brain. She hadn't been expecting this sort of response: she had thought that Kiyone would at least give her a clue about what her "handcuffs" were. Something that Kiyone wanted to break free from. Something that would --
"What? You want to talk about Mihoshi, right?" Kiyone said, after a long sigh.
Washu nearly snapped her fingers. "That's it! Of course!" she said, and seeing Kiyone's odd look, she laughed it off. "Eh... yes, anyway, about Mihoshi-dono."
"I don't hate her, Washu-san," Kiyone said softly. "I don't know if she knows that. I don't know if anyone else knows that."
The red-haired scientist bit her lip. "We know you don't hate her. Or anyone else. But... you've been pretty cold to her. It's not like she did anything in the past to you. In fact, I think Mihoshi-san is the only person who wasn't effected in the past that much. I mean, Aeka-dono and Sasami-chan got affected of the Jurain rule ordeal. Ryoko-chan and you got involved in this because of the whole GP legal thing. Me? I'm Ryoko-chan's mother, thus explaining my role. Tenchi-dono is connected to /all/ of us, so there's where he comes in. But what about Mihoshi-dono? No... we've pretty much ignored her."
"But that's where you're wrong! All of you are -- don't you see?" Kiyone said, frustrated. "She's effected too! Because she's touched us all. Mihoshi -- well, Mihoshi is very happy-go-lucky. We all know that. And... I don't think she's experienced true loss. I've managed to shatter that family image that she has always desired."
"Kiyone-dono..."
"Did you know that she was raised by her grandparents? She didn't know her real parents. Her grandfather was the chief of the Galaxy Police. But since he was away so much, she didn't spend time with him often -- when she did, it was not enough. And her grandmother got sick early in her life. Currently in a coma -- and Mihoshi can't bear to visit her."
Washu gazed at Kiyone sympathetically. Kiyone carried Mihoshi's life, too. She had to look out of Mihoshi, she had to act on behalf for her, make sure she didn't get in trouble --
It suddenly began to click. "Ah," Washu said softly.
"What's 'ah'?" Kiyone said suspiciously, looking up from her own nostalgia.
Washu paused, unsure how to say it, but decided to take a stab at it anyway.
"Why do you carry Mihoshi-dono's burdens?"
Kiyone scowled almost immediately. "It's not like I have a choice," she protested angrily. "That girl is going to get herself killed. She worries about her parents, she's always --"
"You care about her very much, don't you?" Washu interrupted softly.
Kiyone sat, stunned. "I... I...," she stammered.
"But... it doesn't mean you should look out for her 24/7. Granted, Mihoshi-dono should be watched -- but the rest of us has always thought of you as 'Mihoshi-dono's babysitter.'" Washu pursed her lips. "We haven't given any other thought to you otherwise -- who else has the guts to watch over Mihoshi-dono, anyway?"
The two chuckled weakly. "But... don't force yourself to watch over her. Mihoshi-dono is an adult; she just has her rather clumsy results." Washu made a face. "But... we should all look out of her her. But don't sweat it because she's /very/ lucky," Washu said, facefaulting. "It's a wonder she hasn't gotten killed now."
"True," Kiyone said, smiling.
Silence swarmed the area, and Washu thought hard. What was another "handcuff"? Something that made Kiyone guilty, she assumed. Something that she was chained to and couldn't escape at the moment --
"Kiyone?"
A timid voice greeted them as Mihoshi walked in nervously. "Kiyone, don't go! Come back with us to Earth -- you too, Washu-san! We can get our family back; we can all live happily ever after --"
"Our life wasn't a fairy tale. So no 'happily ever after's,'" Kiyone nearly snapped.
Determined, Mihoshi shook her head. "It /was/ a fairy tale! But every... every tale has its problems. And it gets resolved at the end. So we can all go back --"
"Not to the way it was," Kiyone growled.
Washu got up, clearing her throat. "Well. You know what, I think I'm going to wait... a bit. Until Sasami gets my ship. It'll be pointless to be waiting here -- and who knows, maybe I will change my mind," she winked at Mihoshi.
She turned to leave, then tilted her head back. "Oh, and Kiyone-dono."
"Yes?"
"We all know you didn't do it. And... Ryoko-chan knows that. She's just hardheaded." With that, Washu stifled a chuckle and left the room, leaving Kiyone and Mihoshi together.
---
Ryo-ohki peered her head in the room. Sasami-chan, she noted, as not here. Where was her friend? It was only Kiyone and Mihoshi. Heaving a sigh, she cutely scratched her head and stepped out of the room, pondering where the blue-haired princess had vanished to.
Back in the lounge room just moments ago, Tenchi had suggested that Ryo-ohki go and find Sasami and maybe catch up. Of course, Ryo-ohki was aware that it was a plan to get both Ryoko and Aeka alone so he could talk with them. She facefaulted, thinking of all the ways that Tenchi could hurt himself in that situation, and considered going back.
Then she couldn't see.
"Miyaaaa---!" she screeched in alarm, flailing wildly.
Behind her, Sasami carefully removed her hands from the cabbit's eyes, and smiled. "You had to guess who it was!" she said childishly, smiling. Her tone seemed so odd, coming out of a young woman like her. The transformation scared Ryo-ohki. Where was the little girl who had been her playmate? She drew back.
A hurt look passed on Sasami's face. "Ryo-chan?" she said softly, then understood. "I see." She bit her lip. "It's still me, Ryo-chan. I just look different -- but I'm still the same underneath. Tsunami and I... just because we merged doesn't mean I'm gone."
Ryo-ohki was not convinced, and she cast her eyes down. From what she knew, Tsunami was a goddess. She had to pay proper respect to her -- whether she was with Sasami or not. Ryoko had always sneered about Tsunami, but hadn't it been Tsunami who had saved Ryoko's life? Or had it been Sasami? Frustrated, she clasped her head.
Sasami crouched to Ryo-ohki's height; her voice begging, coaxing. "Ryo-chan," she said softly, "please? We're still friends, aren't we?"
"Miya." The reply was adamant and questioning: "Are we?"
The princess shifted uncomfortably; a guilty look on her face. "I know... I know that... that I didn't give you a second thought when I left Earth. But by then, you were already gone with Ryoko-oneechan -- I would have loved to take you back with me! Or at least say goodbye."
"Miya miya miya!" Ryo-ohki said rather sharply: "We met when you saved Ryoko!"
"That's true..." Sasami sighed. "But I was being selfish."
Ryo-ohki blinked. Selfish? She hadn't thought that would count into the equation...
Her friend laughed humorlessly. "You know, when I told Oneesama I'd take her place here, I thought I was seriously doing it for the right thing. But... me? I just wanted to stop being the girl that everyone thought of as the 'cheerful girl.' Everyone came to me with their problems. 'Oh, Sasami-chan, what should I do?' Always thinking I'm smiling. But underneath that smile... there's so much more!"
Ryo-ohki frowned. "Miya?"
"Yes." Sasami paused. "Like being out of Oneesama's shadow. I want to be known other than being 'Princess Aeka's little sister,' or 'the Masaki household's superb chef.' I want a new identity. My real self."
She sighed, then looked at Ryo-ohki. "You're the only one I trust with this, Ryo-chan. I don't consider anyone else as good as a friend you are. You and I -- we understand each other. We don't need words or anything: we just know what's going on. Right?" She smiled sadly. "Dakara..."
Ryo-ohki studied her. // Sasami-chan is Sasami-chan, // she thought. // It doesn't matter if she looks like a goddess... //
She embraced her friend tightly.
---
"I'm taking a walk," Ryoko announced curtly to the near-empty room.
"I'll come!" Tenchi offered quickly, getting up. And then he bit his lip, quickly checking with Aeka. She smiled sadly, nodding her consent, and he felt guilty. But Ryoko saved him.
"No, Tenchi. You're staying here," she said tightly. "I'm going to take a walk by /myself/."
"But -- we need to talk --"
"We'll talk when I get back," Ryoko said. "Not now."
Something in her voice made him stop, and he watched her walk out of the conference room quickly. He sighed, and sat by Aeka. "Aeka-san... I... um..." He scratched his head. "This may not be the best time to tell you."
The princess looked up curiously at him. "What? That you chose between us?" she said calmly, as if he was stating the weather.
Tenchi blinked. "Uh... yeah. How did you know?"
"Let's just say I have a knack for finding these things out," Aeka said simply, and she gave him a half-smile. "But... you don't need to tell me." She paused. "Isn't it obvious?"
Tenchi flushed. "I... uh..." He groped for some words to come at, but couldn't think of any, and silently cursed at himself. // Dammit, Tenchi! Why are you so uptight around women? Especially now? You've lived with them long enough... //
"And you don't have to apologize," Aeka said softly. "Maybe I should."
// Huh? //
"For what?" Tenchi said in surprise.
"For being a burden. Staying at your home. Demanding that you pick between Ryoko-san and I," she murmured. "All this strain on you. All this pressure. And to think... I knew who you loved since a long time ago. And yet I kept fighting; thinking I had a chance. But... now I know. Love... love is so --" Her voice caught in her throat abruptly.
Tenchi took her hand, grasping it reassuringly. "It's okay," he said softly.
"That love...," Aeka tried to continue, and cleared her throat. She was /not/ going to cry in front of him. "Love. Well, once there's true love -- you can't change that. I was so silly, not knowing that. Kept trying, when I knew the real results." Her eyes gently met with Tenchi's and she broke away quickly. "That... that day... when you and I -- well, when everyone left Earth --"
Tenchi blushed. "We weren't thinking," he said quickly.
"You're right. We weren't -- and that wasn't love. That was a selfish, immature thing for me to do. You did nothing wrong," Aeka said quietly. "And I guess... I'll never know real love."
"That's not true!" Tenchi protested. "What you had for me --" Here, he flushed again, "-- wasn't that love? Real love?"
"Yes, but..."
"Just because it wasn't reciprocated doesn't mean your feelings weren't real love... does it? I know how much you cared, Aeka-san. I'll never forget it," he told her. "But you shouldn't give up on finding love."
Aeka smiled. "Never."
---
"Please don't go."
Mihoshi's voice was coaxing, begging, pleading. Kiyone couldn't bear to look at her -- she knew that if she did, her mind would be changed. Mihoshi was like a stray puppy, begging to be bought. Kiyone was the naive person who would let herself be fooled by this act.
She wasn't going back. She /couldn't/ go back.
"How can I go back?" she demanded. "After what I did? How can I live with myself? How can you live with me, knowing that I did it?"
"Is that what you believe?" Mihoshi responded quietly. "Do you really believe that you handed Ryoko-san in?"
"No! Wait... yes. Wait." Kiyone kneaded her throbbing temples. /Did/ she believe that? Had she really done it? No! She had tried to protect Ryoko --
"Kiyone... no one believes you did that to Ryoko-san." She paused. "I don't think Ryoko-san believes that either."
"Oh, yeah? That explains why she's after my neck," Kiyone said sarcastically.
"We all need someone to blame!" Mihoshi wailed. "And... no one said we wanted to turn to you. It's just a natural response, I guess." She shrugged. "But I /never/ doubted you for a second, Kiyone! We're partners! I know you inside and out."
"You know /me/?" Kiyone scoffed, but a smile played on her lips. "I thought you were either too busy watching silly TV shows or pigging on food that you wouldn't notice anything about me except that I'd drag you around nad make sure you did your job or that you didn't get killed."
"Well, I /know/ you hate tardiness," Mihoshi piped. "And... you can't stand my TV shows. And you love promotions."
Kiyone grinned. "Well, that's true."
"You think of Tenchi-san as your little brother. Sometimes, you think you're like the only normal one in our family and you think you're the 'oldest sister,' making sure her siblings don't do something crazy and stupid."
Kiyone blinked. "I never told you that," she said, surprised.
"I /know/ so. See?" Mihoshi said smugly. "I know you, Kiyone! And I /know/ you didn't do what it looks like you did. Sometimes, you act like promotions are the most important thing in the world --"
"But I learned," Kiyone interrupted softly. "When I came to live with you guys on Earth."
"Sou," Mihoshi agreed. "Dakara... ikanaide. Please don't go. I... we... we all miss you. And Ryoko-san. And Washu-san. And Sasami-chan. Come back! It's not the same."
"No one thinks I did it -- but I do," Kiyone interjected. "So how does that work out, huh? I'll live with the guilt for the rest of my life."
"But you tried to save Ryoko-san," Mihoshi pointed out. "Right? And... maybe you just weren't lucky at that time. Everything's meant to happen for a reason -- that's what my Obaachan used to say."
"'Happen for a reason,' huh?" Kiyone repeated. "Hmm..."
"So please. Just stay with us on Earth," Mihoshi said.
"But what about Mari?" Kiyone pointed out. "She got hurt by Ryoko --"
Mistake.
Mihoshi looked away, cringing. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm being so selfish. I forgot you established a new life. Here, in space. A new partner, a great job... and I'm just trying to ruin it for you. I always do." She sighed, getting up. "I'm sorry... I even said anything." Hands in her pockets, Mihoshi stepped out of the room.
"Wait, Mihoshi --"
Defeated, Kiyone sighed, putting her head in her hands. // No one thinks I did... but I know. But is Mihoshi right? Is that klutz right for once? // She scowled darkly, then sighed. // But I... I want to go back. I miss everyone. I still care about them all -- even Ryoko-san. I thought she was the enemy... but she isn't. //
// "Feelings last for a while, but not forever, Kiyone. You're clinging to your past. What good will that do to you? You're hoping for some miracle? Fine, then take action!" //
Mari's words rang in her head, from back on their ship earlier.
// Sou. Nothing will happen if I don't take action... and feelings don't last for a while. They're always there -- they may change, but they don't vanish! // Kiyone thought grimly.
// "You're hoping for some miracle? Fine, then take action!" //
// Action...? //
// "Then take action!" //
Kiyone got up, and begin to run after Mihoshi.
// Clinging to a past... it'll do me no good just sitting here, waiting to be invited back. I have to do something... make up for it. Try to create a miracle. //
---
Ryoko sighed, walking back towards the conference room, a scowl on her face. She had tried to get into some isolated room and sit by herself but Jurain guards seemed to be just about everywhere and studying her suspiciously. She had guaranteed them that if she wanted to try to kill the royal family, she would have done so already, and that certainly hadn't pleased them, and she smirked at the memory.
"Ara, Ryoko-chan."
She cringed at the voice, and stopped, not turning around. "What is it?" she asked in a very exasperated tone of voice.
"I was hoping to find you here."
The red scientist bounded up by Ryoko, keeping up with her pace. "And I thought you were talking with Tenchi-dono and Aeka-dono?"
"Those two?" Ryoko scoffed. "They're probably --" Her fists clenched up tightly, and froze in the hallway. Washu stopped ahead of her, looking back curiously. "Nothing," Ryoko finished with a sigh. "Nothing."
Washu sighed. // Well, if talking isn't the way in... //
They walked together in silence, going back to the conference room.
Soooo... I see. You think Tenchi-dono picked Aeka-dono, Washu prodded in Ryoko's mind. Her daughter stopped again, her eyes bugging out, ready to kill the short person next to her, and simply clenched her jaw, refusing to cooperate.
Get out of my head, she snapped back.
Oh? You think I'm going to leave *that* easily? Washu said sternly. Without even a 'bye' to your dear mama, you leave Earth. Tsk, tsk.
My *MAMA*? Ryoko nearly roared in Washu's head, and she winced. You must be joking. Let me count the ways -- I'm the result of a test tube subject. You're so reckless that I get kidnapped by your own student and I'm used as a murder machine. And let's face it, you haven't exactly "helped" me out on Earth, either. And when I tried to contact you from my ship, you're obviously "not available."
... What do you mean, tried to contact me? Washu suddenly inquired.
"Forget it," Ryoko said out loud, standing outside the conference room, having arrived.
"No. Tell me. I'm curious."
"I said, 'forget it,'" Ryoko snapped, obviously regretting that she had brought it up. She opened the door to the conference room slightly, and was visibly upset to see that Tenchi and Aeka were still talking, but made no move.
"... and Aeka-san, I love you --"
// ... ?! //
"Ryo-Ryoko-chan?!" Washu called after her daughter as Ryoko teleported out of sight.
Startled by Washu's voice, both Tenchi and Aeka quickly rose to their feet. "Wa-Washu-san?!" Tenchi asked. "What's wrong?!"
Aeka swallowed tightly.
// This is for the best -- there is always a winner and a loser. //
"Tenchi-sama," she said softly, "I think Ryoko-san heard us -- but it's better if you go talk to her," she said quietly. "Today. Not later. Now."
Tenchi stared at her for a long moment -- almost guiltily.
"Don't feel guilty," Aeka said calmly. "Remember... we both drove you up to it."
Tenchi swallowed. "Demo..."
Aeka shook her head, taking Tenchi's hand reassuringly.
"It's for the best."
---
EPISODE TEASER:
Tenchi: Somehow, we're not as hostile anymore. Mihoshi-san and Kiyone-san seem to have found out their differences. And it looks like we've been able to solve this huge mystery. But what will happen to our family now...?
Next time, on Shattered Mirror: "Goodbye Forever."
Ryoko, ore wa...
---
AUTHOR's NOTES:
The fact is, this is the one chapter I'm really displeased with -- you may think otherwise, but I've lately been cowering in this writer's block period. _; Have been, for that matter. Excuse the shoujo-esque stuff you might sense in this entire chapter; I've been working on several "Sakura Taisen" fanfics and influences may have carried over.
I personally thought the scene changes were abrupt and not fluid. Or that may just be me... shrug You can see it any way you like. All I'm trying to do is attempting to get near the conclusion! ^^; And more of the emotional bonding stuff next, too.
What I hate is how Tenchi says, "I picked (insert girl's name here)." Personally, I agree with what Orikasa Ai said in her interview: "I think Tenchi should end up with Sasami because she would make him the happiest (^_^)." He'd be bound into strange Jurain customs with Aeka and his life expectancy would be lowered around Ryoko. So of course there's a drawback. :D But here's the hint: no, he doesn't pick Sasami in "Shattered Mirror." ^_^;
Next chapter may be delayed a bit, as I am concentrating on Sakura Taisen fanfics for the moment.
Side notes:
- "Amanogawa Mari": Eh, more or less tedious wordplay. The word "amanogawa" means "Milky Way."
- Mihoshi's grandma: I'm taking the manga storyline for this one. Found in volume 11 or so, I believe.
- dakara ikanaiade: "Dakara" means "so" or "because." "ikanaide" means "don't go."
- Mari's saying: Please refer to chapter 2/3/4 for this. [Can't remember which...]
Mata ne!
-- Emily Koh
July 19, 2001