A Shoulder to Cry On
What are you doing? Putiko asked as he walked into the lab. Washu nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Putiko growling behind her and let out a huff upon seeing who it was.
"Congratulations Putiko. I believe that's the first time you've ever snuck up on me," Washu breathed as she returned to her work. She had been so involved in what she was doing that she had failed to hear the Clav enter the room. Putiko grinned at her upon hearing this rare achievement before reaching her side and peering over at what she was working on.
What's that? he asked as he wrinkled his face in confusion.
"It's for Ryoko," she said.
Yes, but…what is it? Putiko asked again.
"Well, I had done some research and found these two organisms on a planet called 'Earth'," Washu said as she pulled up two pictures on the screen of her laptop. Putiko tilted his head and stared at the one labled 'kitten' and wrinkled his brow after finding no interest in the one labled 'rabbit'.
Kinda looks like me he said.
"That's because it's an extremely distant relative of yours. A more primitive one. Anyway, I couldn't decide which she would like more, so I combined them to make the decision easier," Washu explained before turning to a small tank that held the creature. She leaned down and stared at it before smiling to herself with a chuckle.
What are you chuckling at? Putiko asked after letting this information sink in.
"At how brilliant I really am," Washu chortled before inputting the last of the data needed to make the combination. It had already taken a form, she just now had to put a specific personality into it. Something that would click with Ryoko's.
I thought she had to take care of that bracelet first Putiko said curiously.
"That's what I told her, but I couldn't wait a year. Besides, this little critter will be smart enough to take care of itself if need be," Washu said in a distant voice as she became engrossed in her work once again.
I see. I believe Ryoko will be pleased Putiko said with a nod of his head.
"That reminds me. Where is my daughter?" Washu asked as she pried herself from her work.
She's with Mikollious in the throne room Putiko said as Washu nodded her head.
"I ask that you go to her and make sure she doesn't venture down here. She's been getting into the habit of doing that," Washu said. Putiko nodded his head obediently and turned to leave but stopped as Washu called back to him.
"And can you make sure she's okay? I mean, the whole 'being mad at me' thing?" Washu asked with a pleading look. It had been almost two weeks since they had returned from the market and Washu had spent almost every minute of every day in her lab, working on Ryoko's pet. Putiko smiled weakly, knowing how affected Washu was by the little girl's anger and took off up the stairs to tend to the cyan-haired little girl.
***
"Miko, do you know why my mommy spends so much time in her lab?" Ryoko asked as she played with her Putiko doll while sitting on the King's lap. He smiled at her shortened version of his name and let out a slow sigh, thinking of how to tell her. Washu hadn't spent hardly any time with her daughter and Ryoko wasn't happy about that in the least. He had known her reasons and knew the little girl would get over it once she found out why her mother was so busy, but until then, he had to come up with a good excuse.
"I'm sure she has an excellent reason to deprive herself of your company, Ryoko," he said in a cheery voice. Ryoko smiled weakly and let out a childish sigh before looking up at Mikollious with a saddened look.
"Sometimes I think she doesn't like me anymore," she said in a soft voice.
"Now why do you think that?" Mikollious asked, slightly disturbed by Ryoko's tone.
"Because I never see her," Ryoko said in a small voice. Mikollious placed her on the ground as he stood and knelt down to meet her at eye level while holding her shoulders.
"Ryoko, you're mother loves you very much and she's just trying to make you happy," Mikollious said.
"Than why doesn't she play with me?" Ryoko whined.
"Because she's very busy. I ask a lot of her, Ryoko, and it takes up a lot of her time," Mikollious said, trying to save Washu a bit and blame all this work on his own requests.
"Than ask her to play with me," Ryoko said with a pleading look on her face. Mikollious chuckled and let out a sigh as he nodded his head.
"Okay. Next time I see her, I will tell her," he said before wrinkling his brow at the curious look on her face.
"Miko, where's your necklace that mommy made you?" she asked curiously.
"Honestly Ryoko, I don't know," he said in a serious tone. It had been missing for almost two weeks now and he was clueless as to where it had gone to. It was like it just…disappeared.
"You lost it?" Ryoko whispered in a slightly stunned voice. Mikollious never lost anything and the fact that it was made by her mother further surprised her.
"I did," Mikollious said in a sullen voice as he hung his head.
"Mommy won't be happy. You lost the present she gave you," Ryoko scolded as she waved a finger at the King who chuckled at the little girl's uplifted attitude.
"Don't tell her, okay? I don't want to get in trouble," he said as he held a finger to his lips.
"Okay. I won't tell," Ryoko said before her face wrinkled in a disappointed look.
"What's wrong?" Mikollious asked curiously.
"If I see her," Ryoko said softly. Mikollious let out a sigh and put her back in his lap as he sat down again.
"You will," he said.
"I miss her," Ryoko said after a long pause before remaining silent until Putiko came and got her.
***
Washu let out a yawn as she approached the throne room with a small fluff of brown fur in the crook of her arm. She glanced around the throne room and saw only Mikollious on the throne with a look of deep thought on his wrinkled face.
"Washu. Good to finally see you," he said lazily. Washu chuckled sheepishly and shrugged her shoulders before glancing down at the rabbit/kitten cross in her arms.
"Sorry. I have been kind of anti-social, haven't I?" she asked.
"Ryoko's really upset with you. She thinks you don't like her anymore," Mikollious said as he approached her. Washu wrinkled her brow slightly and stared at the little creature before letting out a sigh.
"Great," Washu mumbled under her breath. She hated doing this to Ryoko, but everything around here seemed so…odd and Washu was aware of it. She felt obligated to try and do something about it, seeing she was the only one who really could. Not only has she been working on Ryoko's pet, but she's been running tests on just about everything that gave her this odd feeling but had come up with nothing.
"What's that?" Mikollious asked in a slightly disgusted voice. Washu chuckled and let out a sigh as she held the little critter up by it's underarms. It yawned and blinked at her a few times before sneezing and closing it's eyes again.
"This is Ryoko's new playmate," she said with a smile. Mikollious tilted his head at it and reached out for the strange animal.
"What…is it?" he asked as it fit in the palm of his hand. It's large ears drooped over his hand and it's fluff of a tail tickled his fingers.
"I guess it would be called a cabbit. A cross between a rabbit and a cat," Washu said, causing Mikollious to give her an awkward look. Washu waved it off and took the animal back before tickling it under the chin, causing it to wake up again.
"Well, she's in her room with Putiko. I take it you wanted to deliver it to her," Mikollious said as he sat on his throne again.
"That's what I was intending," Washu said as she looked up but wrinkled her brow as she failed to see the pendant she had made dangling from the King's neck. "Mikollious, where's your pendant?"
"I don't know," he said after a brief hesitation.
"You lost it?" she asked as she raised an eyebrow. She didn't like the idea of that, seeing it meant he might very well request that she make another.
"I did."
"How long has it been missing?" she asked after a moment of thought.
"Almost two weeks. I lost it the day you brought Ryoko into the market," he said. Washu wrinkled her brow deeply at this new information and looked away in thought. Mikollious never misplaced his jewelry. Especially his pendant. This just added to the odd feelings she's been having lately.
"I see," she said before taking her leave before Mikollious could say more.
***
Putiko looked up as he heard someone approaching Ryoko's room and took his defensive stance before relaxing when Washu smiled down at him. Putiko stepped aside so that she could enter the room and she went to walk in, but hesitated before looking back at Putiko.
"How is she?" she asked in a concerned tone.
She cried herself to sleep again Putiko said as he gave her a straight look. Washu closed her eyes and lowered her head before lightly running her fingers through the soft fur of the creature in her arms.
"Still mad at me, huh?" she asked, never opening her eyes or lifting her head.
A little, yeah Putiko said in a stern voice.
"Just my luck…" Washu said softly before entering the room. She walked over to the bed and gently sat down while staring at the sleeping Ryoko with a look of thought on her face.
Why do I always end up hurting you? she thought to herself. She then looked down at the cabbit in her arms and smiled as it softly meowed up at her. She then rested the little fuzz-ball against Ryoko's stomach and smiled as the little girl shifted in her sleep. She then crawled onto the bed and let out a sigh as she lay down.
"I really need to try harder, don't I?" Washu asked into the air in a soft voice as she stared at her daughter. She smiled as Ryoko shifted again, seeing the cabbit was now awake and trying to crawl over the little girl's arm. Washu then picked the cabbit up and gently rested her near Ryoko's face where she could get a good look at her new master. It then looked back up at Washu with a soft meow and tilted her small head curiously.
"She won't bit," Washu chuckled softly before watching the cabbit take her word and curl up against Ryoko's chin, causing the little girl to shift in her sleep yet again. She had to admit, she was proud of herself for this. This little creature was a lot like Ryoko and Washu had made a link between them, much like the royalty and Clav link, but had designed it so that it wouldn't activate itself until Ryoko was older. She didn't want to confuse the little girl, or the cabbit for that matter. Washu then reached over and gently brushed the hair out of Ryoko's face and smiled as she gently brought the little girl out of sleep.
"Mommy?" she asked groggily, not fully awake yet.
"Mommy's here, Ryoko," Washu said as she ran her finger's through Ryoko's hair.
"Will you stay?" she asked, still not fully awake yet.
"Of course, Ryoko. I'll stay as long as you want," Washu said before running her hand over Ryoko's cheek in a thoughtful stroke. The little girl then wrinkled her brow as she felt something fuzzy under her chin and blinked her eyes until she saw the smiling face of her mother. Washu smiled back and nodded down at the cabbit, indicating that Ryoko wasn't just imaging things. Ryoko then craned her head back and saw the fuzz ball before letting out a shout of surprise and jumping back.
"What is that?" the little girl shrieked, causing the cabbit to jump up and search the room in a panic.
"It's okay," Washu said in a soft voice as she swiftly picked the cabbit up, seeing it was still panicking.
"What is it? Why is it here?" Ryoko shrieked again, causing the cabbit to make the unconscious decision to use it's claws. Washu struggled to keep her skin free of scratches and did her best to calm the cabbit down but was failing because of Ryoko's loud whines of fear. Like any animal, the cabbit could sense fear and it was still small, so it was scared to death at this point.
"It's okay you two. Just calm down," Washu said as she struggled with the animal. She didn't expect a reaction like this at all. Ryoko then jumped off the bed and ran to the other side of the room and her swift movement caused the cabbit to redouble it's efforts. Washu let out a shout of pain as the cabbit dug it's claws into her palm, causing her to let it go. It scrabbled over Washu's shoulder and leaped off her back before landing with a thud on the floor. Washu turned to see it stunned after slamming into the floor, which had been a fall it hadn't expected. She then let out a sigh and picked the cabbit off the floor while rounding the bed towards Ryoko who let out a whimper as she drew closer.
"Keep it away!" Ryoko screamed as she tried to push herself into the wall. Washu looked up at her and wrinkled her brow in confusion before tilting her head. She was grateful that the cabbit wasn't struggling, seeing it was still recovering from it's trip to the floor, but was confused as to why Ryoko was so scared of it.
"Ryoko, calm down. It's okay," Washu said. Ryoko let out a scream as Washu knelt in front of her, causing Washu to hold her hand out to try and stop the girl from smacking her in the face as she tried to slap the cabbit away. Washu then gently grabbed Ryoko's arm and wrinkled her face as Ryoko strained to pull away, even though she couldn't go anywhere.
"Ryoko, listen to me. Calm d-"
"Get it away!!" Ryoko screamed. Washu was surprised at herself, for she could feel the irritation growing in the pit of her stomach and gave Ryoko a harsh look before wrapping an arm around her waist and hauling her off the floor. Ryoko let out another scream and struggled to free herself, seeing she could feel the fur of the still stunned cabbit against her back and continued to struggle as Washu placed her on the bed. Ryoko rose to her feet and tried to jump off, but Washu was reluctant to let her go.
"Ryoko, sit down!" Washu shouted, causing the little girl to immediately stop and drop into a sitting position with her head lowered and her hands folded. Her mother had never raised her voice to her before and she found that to be more frightening than the creature in her hand and this point.
"Thank you," Washu said before standing up and walking over to a basin of water with a wash cloth draped over the side. She gently placed the cabbit down and proceeded to wash it off as well as her hand, seeing the cut's she had received had smeared the cabbit's brown fur with blood.
"What's gotten into you? I've never seen you throw a tantrum like that, Ryoko," Washu scolded. She couldn't believe she was so aggravated with Ryoko's behavior and it startled her. She glanced over her shoulder to see the little girl with her head low and her face streaked with tears. Washu then looked up and saw Putiko standing in the doorway with a look of panic on his face after hearing the screams.
Is everything okay? What's going on? he asked.
"Everything's fine, Putiko. Ryoko's just acting out of line," Washu said as she waved him away. He reluctantly left the room as Washu wrapped her hand in a clean cloth after cleaning both herself and the cabbit off. She then sat next to Ryoko with the fur-ball in her lap and let out a quick sigh as she looked over at Ryoko, who was shying away from the creature.
"Ryoko, it's okay. It's not going to hurt you," Washu said in a soft, comforting voice.
"What is it?" Ryoko asked after a long silence, still uncertain about it. Washu then knelt in front of her again and moved Ryoko's arms out of her lap.
"I know it looks strange, but I guarantee you that it's the friendliest little critter you've ever met," Washu said with a smile, trying to coax her daughter out of this fear. Ryoko looked at her and then down at her hands before letting out a jittery sigh.
"But it hurt you," she said as she pointed to Washu's wrapped hand.
"That's because you freaked out and scared it," Washu chuckled. Ryoko looked at her and then down at the cabbit before taking a deep breath and letting curiosity finally take over. Washu smiled and placed the cabbit in Ryoko's lap and saw her daughter tense before relaxing her muscles and cautiously poking the cabbit in the side.
"Why isn't it moving?" she asked after a few moment of prodding it.
"Because it had to have fallen at least four feet off the ground and it's still a baby, Ryoko," Washu said with another chuckle. She felt so relieved that this irritated feeling had left. She didn't want to hold feelings like that towards her little girl. Ryoko then tilted her head and finally made the move of lifting the cabbit up and tilting her head at it's face.
"She's kinda cute, actually," she said after a moment and smiled as it finally focused it's eyes on her. Washu smiled widely as the two regarded each other for a moment before sitting next to her daughter on the bed and leaning over her while scratching the cabbit under the chin.
"Well, she's yours. This is why I've been in the lab for so long. It took me a long time to decide what I wanted to get you," Washu chirped. Ryoko looked up at her and smiled as she gave in, cuddling the cabbit to her chest after seeing it wasn't going to hurt her. Washu watched as Ryoko looked the cabbit over and tilted her head, thinking out how she had reacted to her.
"Ryoko, why were you so scared?" Washu asked.
"I was just having a dream…" Ryoko said slowly as she rested the cabbit back in her lap.
"A dream? About what?" Washu asked. Ryoko let out a sigh and shrugged her shoulders before looking down at the creature in her lap.
"It's confusing. I don't know what it means," Ryoko said.
"Ryoko, you can still tell me about it. Was it that bad?" Washu asked. Ryoko looked at her and Washu felt her heart fall to the floor in self-loathing as she saw the look on her daughter's eyes. A look that told her Ryoko wasn't sure if she wanted to tell Washu about it. As though she didn't trust her.
"Why? You don't care," Ryoko said as she hung her head. Washu swiftly took Ryoko's face in her hands and forced the girl to look at her with a stunned look.
"Ryoko, don't you ever say that, do you hear me? Don't ever say that I don't care because that's not true," she said in a stern voice. Ryoko just stared at her, not knowing what to do or say. Her lower lip then started to quiver before her face twisted itself in a sadden look.
"I'm sorry," she whimpered before letting out soft cries to accompany her twisted expression. Washu then sat on the bed and pulled Ryoko into her lap before hugging her while rocking back and forth as she cried.
Good going, genius Washu sneered bitterly to herself as she tried to comfort Ryoko as best she could. She very rarely yelled at the little girl but she has been lately, so it wasn't helping her situation.
"Ryoko, I'm not mad at you. I know I haven't been around lately and I'm sorry," Washu said as she rested her head on top of Ryoko's.
"I missed you," Ryoko said before coughing out a few more sobs.
"Than I promise I'll spend every day with you from now on, okay?" Washu asked, hoping the little girl would stop crying. Ryoko's cries died and she sniffled as she leaned back, looking up at her mother.
"Promise?" she asked.
"Promise. We'll play every day and I'll even think about ending the naps just so we can have more playtime," Washu said with a smile. Ryoko then grinned up at her and Washu could see her eyes sparkle with excitement at her mother's promise. Washu could see that she was getting older and her energy levels were almost at their peek, so a nap wasn't really necessary. Ryoko then looked down at her lap and remembered that she still had the cabbit in her lap before cuddling her back to her chest.
"Now, about this dream…" Washu said.
"I don't know where we were, but I was with you and I saw a man standing in front of me with this thing in his hands," Ryoko said as she held the cabbit up.
"What did he look like?" Washu asked.
"I don't know. I couldn't see his face because he was wearing a black cloak with a hood over his eyes. Anyway, it turned into a big pointy thing with a big red gem in the middle and I could hear him laughing at us…" Ryoko said before pausing.
"Go on," Washu coaxed.
"It pulled me into it, even though I didn't want to go. I cried out for you, but you couldn't do anything. You were in a crystal that looked like the gem in Miko's pendant and all you could do was stare at me as I was taken…" Ryoko finished in a distant voice. Washu wrinkled her brow and let her eyes roam the room in thought, wondering what this meant. She knew it was more than just your average 'no-more-pizza-before-bed' dream.
"It's just a dream, Ryoko," Washu reassured, even though she wasn't so sure herself. Too many odd things have been happening but this one took the cake.
"It scared me," Ryoko said in a small voice. Washu let out a sigh and placed Ryoko on the bed and persuaded her into lying down before lying down next to her.
"Go to sleep, okay?" Washu said in a soft voice, thinking she didn't want to hear anymore talk of this cloaked man.
"Only if you stay with me. I don't want to be alone," Ryoko said.
"Okay, okay. I'll stay with you," Washu said.
"Thank you, mommy," Ryoko said as she started to doze off.
"That reminds me. What are you going to name her?" Washu asked. Ryoko looked down at the cabbit that was now curled up against her chin and let out a yawn before closing her eyes.
"Ryo-Ohki," Ryoko said in a half asleep voice.
"Ryo-Ohki, huh? Why that name?" Washu asked.
"Because that's what she was called…" Ryoko said in a sleepy voice.
"What do you mean?" Washu asked, confused as to where this was coming from.
"That's what I shouted before being pulled into the pointy thing…" Ryoko said slowly before drifting into sleep and leaving Washu to ponder over this.
***
Ryoko slowly opened her eyes and found herself in her room and lifted her head. She felt a clump of soft fur rub against her chin and smiled down at the cabbit that was still asleep. She then felt a weight on her side and looked down to see her mother's arm resting on top of her while her mother slept behind her. Ryoko carefully moved out from under her mother's protective cuddle and crawled off the bed with Ryo-Ohki in her arms. She rounded the bed quietly and stepped out of the room and nearly tripped over Putiko, who was sleeping in front of the door. She waited a moment to see if he was awake and quietly took off down the hall when he failed to open his eyes. She hadn't eaten hardly anything the past few days because she had been so upset, but now her hunger was returning full force. She was intending on going to the kitchen and using Ryo-Ohki to aid her in getting a snack but stopped before rounding the corner.
"Meow?" the cabbit inquired. Ryoko lifted the cabbit up and held it by the underarms before smiling at it with a giggle.
"We're going to get a snack, but we have to be quiet, okay?" Ryoko whispered.
"Meow, meow," it said in a quiet voice. Ryoko giggled again and rounded the corner before letting out a soft shout of surprise as she ran into something. She looked up to see a tall figure looming over her and wrinkled her brow.
"Shouldn't you be in bed, Ryoko?" it asked in a low, almost sinister voice. Ryoko swallowed hard and looked behind her as she bit her lip.
"I was hungry and I didn't want to wake my mommy up," Ryoko said.
"Well, let me accompany you to the kitchen, then. It's not safe to wander the hallways alone, Ryoko," the figure said as it turned and walked towards the kitchen. Ryoko hesitated before shrugging her shoulders and chasing after the man. She just figured it was a new servant so she really didn't think anything of it. She didn't like how she couldn't see his face, or anything else other than his height, but it was still company.
"What's your name?" she asked curiously.
"Youngsters really shouldn't ask questions. They should be quiet and speak only when spoken to, Ryoko," the man said in a flat tone.
"That's not what my mommy says. She says that questions help you learn," Ryoko said before stopping as the man turned to face her.
"Well your mommy doesn't know everything, Ryoko," he hissed, causing Ryoko to wrinkle her brow at this man. She then looked behind her again, thinking her hunger could wait until morning. She looked back to see the man gone and let out a small whimper of fear as she clutched Ryo-Ohki to her chest.
"Meow, meow!" it cried as it jumped out of her arms. Ryoko chased after her and stopped when the cabbit leaped back into her arms.
"Don't do that, Ryo-Ohki. I don't want you to get lost," Ryoko said as she pet the cabbit's head. She had been scared of this thing because of her dream, but like her mother said, it was only a dream. Dreams couldn't hurt you and besides, Ryoko kind of liked how it would meow at her when she asked it questions. Almost like it was answering her.
"Meow, meow, meow," it said as it looked over at a tapestry hanging on the wall.
"It's just a carpet, Ryo-Ohki. Can you see the story?" Ryoko asked. The cabbit leaped out of her arms again and ran over to it before pawing at the corner. Ryoko picked it up again and shook her head before heading back to her room but stopped as she heard something behind her. She turned around and took a sharp breath of surprise as she saw the figure standing in front of her again. She went to scream for Putiko, knowing he would hear her, but didn't get the chance, seeing the man had already grabbed her and pulled her behind the carpet Ryo-Ohki had been pawing at.
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For you that have read my other stories, you can tell I don't use Ryo-Ohki in hardly any of my stories. I couldn't really leave her out, though, seeing Washu had created her and she had been with Ryoko all throughout her control under Kagato, so this was the best thing I could think of. I was hoping this story wouldn't be as long as it is, but I've kind of set myself up for disappointment with that one. This story's only about half done but I'm going to need the reviews in order to finish. So, R&R