CHAPTER FIVE

Every night after that, Sasami entered the dream-world for training. The goddesses never finished explaining the situation; they just told Sasami that she had to figure out the rest on her own. Sasami continued to train anyway, practicing her energy attacks and finally becoming comfortable with Tsunami and their dual identity. Slowly, the princess began to share Tsunami's memories. She still felt Tokima's presence, but she was no longer afraid of the woman. Sasami knew that when the time came for them to battle, as it inevitably would, Sasami would be ready.

During the day, Sasami's physical training also intensified. Since Sasami wasn't getting very much rest at night, she turned to Washu for energy supplements. Washu assured the girl that her green drink wasn't addictive, and Sasami really didn't have a choice. Wyldon jumped on her every time she failed, and Sasami didn't have the time or patience to deal with cleanup duty. Sometimes, however, Washu would specifically request Sasami's help. Instead of working, though, Washu gave Sasami private lessons in the new ships. Washu claimed that Sasami wouldn't have time to learn with her fellow cadets, but that Sasami needed the training anyway.

When the day finally arrived that the rest of the cadets would start to pilot, Sasami entered the big cargo bay. Parked in two neat rows were the new ships, sparkling and new. Sasami filed into her place, waiting for Wyldon to arrive. Taki, as usual, stood next to her. "Hey, Sammy," he greeted, and Sasami smiled at him. "Guess what I just heard."

Sasami blinked at him. For all of his intelligence, Taki was an incurable gossip. "What?" she asked.

He grinned. "We're getting a new cadet tonight."

Sasami stared at him. "This late in training? Who in their right mind would join us now?"

Taki shrugged. "Some boy from Jurai. He's supposed to be very clever, and very dedicated. I heard that he already knows how to pilot these things," he said with a jerk of his head towards the new ships.

"How could he know how to do that? There's only a handful of them in the entire galaxy, and they're closely guarded."

Taki winked. "They say he stole one of them, and practiced on it. When he thought he was good enough, he gave it back. I guess the commander was so impressed by him that they signed him up anyway."

Sasami's eyes narrowed. "What's his name?" she asked suspiciously. It couldn't be…

Taki started to answer, but Lieutenant Wyldon entered at that moment, scowling. "Okay, cadets. As you all know, we're starting your pilot training today. Everybody pick a machine, and get in the cockpit. A technician will be there momentarily to help you settle in. They'll explain all of the doo-dads, so listen carefully. When you're through, I want all of you to come back to me for further instructions."

Grinning ruefully at Taki, Sasami meandered through the line of ships. Washu had made her practice on every single ship in the line, but Sasami didn't feel anything special for any one of them. As she wandered through the maze of ships, she spotted the pink-haired genius gesturing wildly. Sasami ran to her fellow goddess, and Washu pointed to a ship that hadn't even been uncovered yet. "I designed this one especially for you, Sasami," Washu grinned.

Sasami was just about to pull the tarp off the top of the ship, when Lieutenant Wyldon yelled at her to back away. "Cadet Sammy! That ship is not an option. It doesn't even have an engine. Hurry up and pick one of the others."

Sasami sighed and started to obey, when something tickled in the back of her mind. She turned back to the ship, pulling off the tarp with a vigorous energy that surprised even her. She gasped as she caught her first glimpse of the new ship.

It was beautiful and sleek, painted a bright blue that just matched Sasami's hair. In gold lettering along the side was the name, Tsunami II. Though her training was limited, Sasami could already tell that this ship would be stronger and faster than any of the others. The entire ship fairly glowed with contained power, but Wyldon had been correct: there wasn't an engine.

"Holy mother," whispered Wyldon, properly awed.

Washu grinned. "Tsunami, meet the Tsunami II."

Wyldon gaped at them both, observing the cadet's white face and the mechanic's pleased one. "I repeat, cadet, this ship is not meant for you. It cannot be piloted without an engine."

Washu placed a gentle hand on Sasami's shoulder. "You can pilot it, cadet," she said as the other cadets gathered around them. "Start the engine, Sammy."

Sasami licked her lips nervously. "How?" she asked, eyes still glued to the ship.

"I designed this ship to respond specifically to your power. All you have to do is focus and call it."

Sasami nodded and closed her eyes. She forgot that her peers surrounded her; she forgot that she was still unsure of her abilities. She only cared that she was about to fly in this magnificent machine. She focused, feeling her power flow to the kishtake on her forehead. The triangles began to glow brightly, and two answering triangles appeared on the side of the ship. As Sasami focused, the ship in front of her lifted off the ground and began to hover. Sasami opened her eyes, letting her triangles return to normal. Ignoring the stunned and jealous faces of the other cadets, Sasami started to climb into the cockpit. With a thought, the hatch slid open.

Sasami had one foot in the cockpit, when the prince burst into the room, still followed closely by his retinue. He glanced arrogantly around the room, and then focused narrowly on the Tsunami II. He sauntered over to them, addressing the lieutenant with a snide voice bordering on subordination. "I was told that somebody had designed a special type of fighter. I want it," he announced.

His gaze wandered over the hanger deck, eventually coming back to Sasami's ship. He grinned, eyes alight with greed. "This must be it," he said. His eyes wandered over the ship, eventually coming to rest on Sasami. His face hardened considerably, and his eyes narrowed. "Get. Out. Of. My. Ship," he hissed.

Sasami stared at him for a long moment. Finally, she shrugged and climbed out. As she set foot on the ground, Taki whispered angrily, "You aren't just going to give it to him without a fight, are you? Can you imagine what he'll do with power like this?"

A corner of Sasami's lips twitched upward. "He hasn't seen the inside yet." She smiled openly at her friend. "He can't fly it. Trust me."

Indeed, the prince had already started to climb into the cockpit. He slid into the pilot's chair, pulling the restraining belt over his shoulders. He looked around for the controls, but didn't find anything but smooth, unmarked paneling. "Hey!" he protested. "There aren't any controls in here! How am I supposed to fly this stupid thing?" he demanded angrily.

Washu was grinning openly. "You can't," she chortled. "You're too weak to fly something this advanced. You'd better climb out and let a real pilot try."

The prince's eyes widened with anger. He jumped out of the plane and stomped over to Washu. He lifted a fist to strike her, growling furiously. "What did you say, you pink-haired freak?"

Washu didn't look at him. She just yawned, boredom written all over her face. "I said that you should let someone like Cadet Sammy fly this plane. You aren't good enough."

The other cadets flinched in anticipation of the prince's anger, and they weren't disappointed. His eyes bugged out, and his face turned red with anger. "Watch your tongue, freak! You'll pay for speaking thus to a prince!"

Washu glanced around the prince's furious figure, grinning at Sasami. Sasami returned the grin. She wanted to laugh at the thought of this silly prince doing anything to a goddess. As the prince's expression became even more mad, Sasami just couldn't help herself, and she snickered very loudly.

Every eye in the room descended on her, and all sound ceased abruptly. The prince whirled toward Sasami, finally using the fist that had hung, threateningly, in the air during his entire argument with Washu. Sasami felt as though time stood still while the fist flew through the space between them. She knew that she should dodge, but something inside of her kept her in place. The part of herself that was Tsunami told her that she shouldn't reveal herself in front of the prince just yet.

Suddenly, time sped up. Something blocked her view of the prince's fist, and Sasami heard the thud of flesh on flesh. As the prince cried out in pain from the impact, she glanced up at the person standing protectively in front of her. Kamadake's face remained expressionless as he removed the fist implanted in his chest. "That's enough, sop," he announced. The prince's blow must have caused quite a bit of pain, but Kamadake's voice stayed steady.

The prince backed hastily away, cradling his aching hand. "That ship should be mine!" he howled plaintively.

Kamadake just stared stonily at the young royal. "This ship belongs to the girl," he said. "You will not touch it again."

The prince nodded and quickly fled. Before he left the room, he glared once at Sasami. Had she not been one of the three most powerful beings in the universe, she probably would have quailed at the sheer intensity of his hatred for her. As it was, she simply turned to Kamadake, holding out a hand that he didn't take. "Thank you," she said as she finally dropped her limb. He simply nodded and returned to his own vessel. Sasami sighed, deciding that she'd had enough for one day. Ignoring her lieutenant, Sasami left. The cadets parted to let her through.

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Sasami tossed and turned on her bed, trying desperately for a comfortable position that would allow her to sleep. Finally, her eyes drifted closed and her breathing stilled…

This time, she wasn't in the labyrinth. Instead, she found herself standing nervously outside the door to Aeka's suite. Sasami pressed her ear to the door, and sighed when she heard the muffled weeping of her sister. She knocked hesitantly, waiting until Aeka calmed herself enough to say, "Come in."

Sasami pushed the door open, tiptoeing lightly inside. Her sister was lying facedown on her bed, purple hair spread like a fan around her body. As Sasami came closer, she lifted a face red and swollen from crying for hours. Sasami sat on the bed, stroking her sister's glossy tresses. "What's wrong, Aeka?" she asked compassionately. She hadn't seen her sister in several days. She'd been too caught up with Tsunami's lessons to visit. Even on the dream-plane, her time was limited. As a result, she didn't have any idea about what could be hurting her sister's unbreakable spirit.

Aeka stared longingly at her little sister, and then buried her face in her arms. Sasami waited until she'd finished sobbing, and then repeated her sister's name. "Aeka."

Aeka finally sat up, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "Yosho came back," she said simply, her voice and face heartbroken.

Sasami blinked in confusion for a moment, and then nodded slowly. Though her sister had never given any clues before, Sasami suddenly understood the trouble. Her sister had loved Yosho.

For a moment, Sasami couldn't distinguish the boundary between Aeka's emotions and her own. Aeka had been wounded to the heart when Yosho had left without even a farewell. Now that he'd shown up again, she was reliving every wrench of her heart, every tear that she'd shed when he'd disappeared. "Oh, little one," Sasami murmured, forgetting for the moment that she, not Aeka, was the younger sister. "It'll be alright. You'll see," she comforted.

Aeka shook her head violently. "It won't!" she wailed. "He's changed so much. He fell for someone else and forgot all about me!"

Sasami opened her mouth to protest, but was suddenly struck by a vision. She smiled slowly, not letting Aeka see. "Let your heart be light, sister. The world did not end with Yosho. There is another for you."

Aeka stared at her little sister. "You're having a vision, aren't you? What do you see?" she asked, surprising Sasami.

"You know about my visions?" she asked, her voice startled.

Aeka glanced away, nodding slightly. "I've heard you talking to Ryo-oki over the years. I know everything. It hurt that you never came to me, so I just didn't bring it up. I'm sorry, Sasami. I left you to deal with things on your own. I was selfish, and I'm being selfish now. I don't really want to know what you've seen."

She sat up, schooling her face to its normally impassive mask. She turned away from Sasami, making for the door. "Aeka, wait. You're not ready to leave yet."

Aeka halted, but she still didn't turn around. Though Sasami couldn't see her sister's face, she knew that Aeka had started to cry again. "There's nothing more to talk about. Please excuse me, Sasami. I have duties to attend to."

Sasami sighed and rubbed her temple with one finger. "There's something else, isn't there, Aeka?"

Aeka's body stiffened. "I don't know what you mean, Sasami. I am perfectly fine, and there's nothing more to discuss."

Sasami stood and came around to face her sister. "I've known you for far too long to believe you, Aeka. We were brought to the dream-world for a reason, sister. Let's not waste what little time we have by playing games."

Aeka's face scrunched up, and large tears slid down her cheeks. "Yosho was married. Father said that the woman died, but she managed to have a child first. That daughter also died, but she, too, was married and bore a son. Father wants me to wed this son so Yosho's line can be continued." She threw herself into her sister's arms, sobbing wildly. "How can I marry Yosho's grandson, when I love Yosho?"

Sasami stroked her sister's hair. "Oh, Aeka. Your love for Yosho will be nothing compared to your love for Tenchi."

Aeka pulled away, staring accusingly at Sasami. "How did you know his name is Tenchi? I never told you!"

Sasami smiled sadly. "I know many things that I shouldn't."

Aeka stepped away from Sasami. "Sometimes I feel that I don't know you, Sasami. You're so different now."

Sasami shook her head thoughtfully. "No, I'm not really different. This is how I was always meant to be, I think. Still, you haven't asked me about my vision."

Aeka perked up in spite of herself. "What did you see?" she asked hesitantly.

Sasami grinned and perched on the bed. She patted the spot next to herself, and Aeka reluctantly sat next to her.

Sasami grinned at her sister's woebegone face. "I see you and a handsome young man with brown eyes that you adore beyond all reason. I see several beautiful, healthy children with their father's dark hair and their mother's mulberry eyes." She paused just long enough for Aeka to look impatient. Sasami swallowed her laughter, but suddenly became serious. "I see Tenchi's power. He is truly strong. He will wield the wings of the light hawk."

Aeka gasped. "The wings of the light hawk? No man has been able to generate them in centuries! And you're saying that my husband will?"

Sasami's expression remained serious, though she was amused by Aeka's sudden change of attitude. "Yes. Not only will he have the wings, but so will your children, and their children, and their children."

Sasami felt a familiar tingling in the back of her mind. She smiled regretfully. "I must leave now, sister. I will come again. In the meantime, be happy." Sasami hugged Aeka, and then slipped from the room. She knew that her sister would be fine. Sasami had seen this Tenchi many times in her visions, and she knew that he was an upright young man that would care for and protect both Aeka and Jurai.

Sasami returned to her world with a jolt. She smiled softly to herself, pulling Ryo-oki closer. The little cabbit purred and snuggled under Sasami's chin. "All will be well," she murmured as she fell asleep.