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Hope you enjoy this. Oh yeah thanks for reading. Read Bobr's stuff. Happy Reading. M~
What is Forgiveness? By Meekachu
Chapter 6.
Ryoko's sword fizzled away as Tenchi knelt down beside her. He reached out but she pulled back. "I just want this nightmare to end. I want to die." She looked up at him, her golden eyes pleading. "Help me die."
"Ryoko, stop talking like that!" Tenchi said, moving towards the prone figure of the girl. Suddenly everything went black. Tenchi halted and waited; this did not feel like a good thing.
A single spotlight illuminated a battered red haired woman, suspended in the air by her arms. Tenchi felt himself being drawn closer to the woman. His heart pounded as he moved closer. Soon he could make out the features on the face and pain shot through him. He denied what was right in front of him.
"Look familiar Ryoko? She said I had something that wasn't mine. She said that that something didn't belong to anyone, it only belonged to itself," Kagato said moving out from behind the woman's body. She hung by her arms, her wrists were raw, bruises and cuts were vivid next to the white toga- like like dress she wore. The dress itself was no longer pristine; blood decorated it in dotted designs. Her magenta hair lay matted and shown as a stark contrast against her paleness. She looked up at the sound of Kagato's voice. Her emerald eyes widened at the figure that stood in the shadows. She whispered one word. "Ryoko."
Tenchi shivered as he felt a slender form pass through his body.
"Ryoko, tell her who you belong to," Kagato said with a smirk.
Tenchi watched as Ryoko moved further into the light. Her eyes were almost as green as Washu's and seemed to glow with their own light.
Ryoko cocked her head to the side slowly. She stared at Washu. "I.belong to.Kagato," she said watching Washu expression with apparent disinterest.
Kagato circled Washu. "You see, I have trained her well. Ryoko show the lady your gift."
Ryoko relaxed slightly at his words. She held her hand in front of Washu's face. Kagato laughed at Washu's look of horror as a glowing orb formed and flickered in Ryoko's outstretched palm.
"Tampering can be such fun Professor, don't you agree? Ryoko, show the professor the blade. Show her how you have no use for conventional weapons."
Ryoko squeezed her fist as if she was gripping a hilt of weapon. The orange blade flashed right next to Washu's face. Tenchi could hear the hum of the blade and Washu's sudden intake of breath as the blade formed right next to her face. He was frozen by dread.
"Ryoko, make it a scalpel. Make an incision from neck to waist." Kagato said, watching Ryoko who was still watching Washu. He grinned at Washu. "Most parents dream of their children becoming doctors or surgeons. Did you dream of Ryoko like that? Well, here she is."
The blade changed shape. Ryoko moved closer, the hand holding the blade trembled, the motion barely obvious and only noticeable because of the small space.
"Ryoko. Do. It." Kagato growled his eyes narrowing in anger.
The blade inched closer. Ryoko held the tip at Washu's throat and moved no further. The adult Washu swallowed hard and closed her eyes, tears flowing freely down her face.
Kagato stalked around to stand behind Ryoko. "I said cut!" He grabbed Ryoko's arm near the elbow and thrust it forward then pulled down. The glowing blade entered Washu's throat and moved down her body, parting robe and skin alike. Washu remained silent but her pain shown on her face. Tenchi was surprised that there was very little blood.
When the blade reached the area of her navel, her form disappeared in a flash of light. Kagato laughed maniacally as Ryoko fell to the floor, her eyes returning to their normal golden color. She sobbed uncontrollably.
Kagato laid a hand on her head, much as a father would in comforting a child. "Good Ryoko, very good." He turned and walked off into the shadows.
Tenchi didn't know whether to cry or be ill. He was beginning to understand why Ryoko acted the way she did with Washu and why Ayeka seemed so afraid of her at times. But it didn't change the way he felt about her, he still wanted the old Ryoko back and for everyone to be a family again. He started forward, wanting to take the shaking figure in his arms; to tell her how much she meant to him.
Ryoko looked up at his approach. "Don't come near me!" she yelled. "Didn't you see? I killed her!" Tenchi stopped. Ryoko dropped her head onto her chest. "I killed her. I killed my mother."
Tenchi kneeled down and held the sobbing girl against him, rubbing her shoulders and back. "No you didn't," he told her. "It was an illusion, it must be."
More sobs and a muffled voice from his shoulder. "She's dead. I did it. I'm all alone now."
Tenchi helped her to her feet. "No, you're not alone. You have me and Ayeka and Sasami. And even Mihoshi. We're all here. And Washu's not dead, you know that."
Ryoko looked up at his face and sniffed a couple of times. "Mommy? She's still alive?"
Tenchi nodded. Looking down he saw a puzzle piece. Not letting go of Ryoko, he knelt and picked it up, the puzzle that represented Ryoko's mind suddenly appearing before him. He noticed that the piece he held was the last one and he carefully fitted it into place. The imaginary world of Ryoko's memories faded out around him.
~~~~~
Back in the lab, Washu's hand slowly released her throat as she remembered where she was. Sweat was poring from every pore in her body. That never happened, she thought. "Bastard," she muttered. "He planted that memory. To give him absolute control over her, make her feel helpless." She glanced at where Yosho was hiding Sasami's eyes from the monitor and then over at Ayeka's still unconscious form set a little apart from the other two. Everything seemed in order. She hurried over to check the readings on the machines still hooked to her daughter and Tenchi.
"It's almost over," she told the others. "They'll be waking soon."
Yosho nodded. "And hopefully everything will be resolved. Are you ready to face her?"
Washu bowed her head. "Yes, I believe so. I understand now, but you knew long ago, didn't you?"
Yosho smiled weakly. "Indeed, seven hundred years ago Tsunami showed me these images. I had hoped that Ryoko could resolve the conflict herself. I'm glad she had friends to help."
"And her mother?"
"Yes, her mother too, although it took her a bit longer to find her lost daughter than I had hoped. It is said that time heals all wounds, Washu. It's been a long time since Ryoko had a mother; she needs one now."
"Yes." A single tear glistened on the scientist's cheek.
Yosho took Sasami by the hand. "Come sister, I think Washu needs some time to herself." He looked back at the scientist. "You will call if you need me or Sasami for anything?"
Washu could only nod.
~~~~~
Tenchi groaned softly as the world, or at least the bit of it within his range of vision, slowly gained focus. He sensed someone near him and managed to move his head enough to make out a small form. Washu? No, this form had two long ponytails and an odd darkish lump seated between them. Sasami then; and Ryo-ohki. He tried to speak but nothing came out except a quiet croaking noise.
Sasami giggled and covered her mouth. "Gee Tenchi, you sound like a sick frog." Tenchi managed a weak smile.
"That's because his throat is dried out from the oxygen mask I had on him," said a nasally voice from his other side. He moved his head around, his strength returning faster now.
"Washu," he whispered. "Ryoko.?"
"Ryoko's fine," the scientist said, patting Tenchi's shoulder. "She's in another room, still out. As soon as you're strong enough you can see her."
Tenchi tried to sit up but found he wasn't quite that recovered yet. "Is Ayeka all right?" he asked in a much stronger voice.
Washu looked over Tenchi at Sasami before answering. "The princess is going to be fine too. But I'm keeping her under until her wound heals a bit more."
"Wound?" Tenchi wondered out loud. And then he remembered. Ryoko attacking him in a fit of anger, Ayeka suddenly appearing between them and being run through by the other woman. "She wasn't badly injured, was she? Ryoko'll never forgive herself if she was. She didn't mean to do it."
"We know," Washu told him.
Sasami agreed, "We saw the whole thing on the monitors Tenchi, I know Ryoko didn't mean to hurt my sister and I think Ayeka will know it too."
"She'll be mad," Tenchi said. "At least at first." He reached out and grabbed Washu's shoulder gently. "I want to see Ryoko now, then Ayeka," he told her.
Washu helped Tenchi sit up then handed him a cup of water. He nodded gratefully and downed it in two swallows. "Slowly Tenchi," Washu admonished. "Too fast and you'll get sick." She handed him another cup, this time he took slow, careful sips.
~~~~~
Ryo-ohki bounced into the darkened room, rushing between Tenchi and Washu and almost causing Tenchi to trip. He cursed mildly under his breath then hurried over to the still form curled up on the hospital-like bed as fast as his still slightly wobbly legs would carry him. Ryo-ohki hopped up on the sheets and started purring as she curled up next to her master. Tenchi took this as a sign that Ryoko was going to be ok. The cabbit looked up at him with eyes that were almost a match for Ryoko's and he was reminded that the two shared a common genetic bond. He didn't care though; his thoughts were only for the young woman on the bed.
Tenchi looked down on Ryoko's peacefully sleeping form. A smile played about his lips as he saw her composed face. She really is beautiful, he thought, reaching out to stroke her cheek. She moaned and moved in her sleep.
Washu was suddenly at his side. "I don't think you should be here when she wakes up," she told the boy. "She'll remember you being in her mind and might associate that with what happened to her."
"Won't she do that anyway?" Tenchi asked as he reluctantly allowed Washu to guide him away.
"Maybe," Washu said. "But if you're not here to constantly remind her, the memories will lock into their proper perspectives faster." She opened the door for him. But don't worry; she won't wake up alone. I'll be here with her the whole time; that's how mothers are." The door closed between them and Washu never saw the odd look on Tenchi's face at her comment. Tenchi noticed that Ryo-ohki had stayed in the room too.
He found Sasami waiting for him when he turned around. "Come on Tenchi," the little princess said, taking his hand. "I'll take you to Ayeka now. Even though she's still asleep I know you're being there will make her feel better."
Tenchi allowed Sasami to lead him away but he kept looking back to the closed door that hid Ryoko and her mother.
~~~~~
Ryoko's eyes snapped open. At first she was disoriented, the last thing she remembered clearly was sitting under Funaho feeling sorry for herself. Everything after that was jumbled memories of Ayeka and Tenchi in situations they shouldn't have been in. And there was something about the princess being seriously hurt as well. She closed her eyes and tried to sort her mind into some semblance of order.
Her head hurt, even with her eyes closed. Opening them, she turned her head to figure out where she was; she had a suspicion, but really hoped that she wasn't right. She had developed a hearty fear of labs of any kind and Washu's pranks had done nothing to make it any better. She could feel her breathing become labored but there was nothing she could really do to stop it but get out. She shifted her attention to her arms and felt all the tubes and the wires that were attached to her body.
Washu, fitfully dozing with her head down on one of her consoles, heard the sheet covering her daughter rustle as Ryoko moved. Her head came up and she squinted in the dim light towards where Ryoko was supposedly resting. Moving quickly she went to check on her personally; as she stood, Washu's eyes quickly scanned the sensors that told her that Tenchi and Ayeka, now in separate rooms, were still deep asleep. Even in her rush to be with her daughter she was concerned about the others. Washu had learned something about herself from Ryoko's ordeal too.
Ryoko heard the machinery humming and buzzing quietly in the darkness; she wanted out, the old fears were rising like a flood. She really wanted out. She tugged weakly at the connections in her arms.
"Ryoko, honey, don't do that." Ryoko felt her heart stop as the voice that came out of the darkness. It was a voice that held a hidden longing and carefully masked pain. She didn't know how to respond so she temporarily retreated back into the shell that was so familiar to her.
"I would like to be left alone," Ryoko said turning her head to stare off into a darkened corner of Washu's lab, her voice was raspy from disuse and cold.
She didn't see Washu flinch at her tone. Ryoko wasn't sure how she felt, even though she understood, at least she thought she did, why Washu had done what she had. But her mind wasn't allowing her heart to accept it.
She knew she was still hurting Washu. Ryoko heard Washu's silent pleas, but her mind and heart were still unsure. Washu may say she cared about her, but her actions had never matched Ryoko's concept of caring.
Strangely enough she could accept the fact that Yosho, Tenchi and yes, even Ayeka were concerned about her. Ryoko snorted softly, whom was she kidding, it was concern but it also was something deeper, perhaps love. But the one person her love was most important to at the moment was standing next to her and she couldn't give it to her. Yet.
Washu had always been there but it took the shattering of her mind for her to see that. It was Washu who had held back her insanity, Washu who was that little point of light whenever she found herself lost in darkness. Washu had held her fears away when they had come close to devouring her. Washu had been the glue that held her mind together.
Until she had lost the thread that was Washu in her mind she hadn't realized how she had built everything on that thread. Without Washu her mind had unraveled. But now it was whole again, or at least as whole as it would ever be with her memories and experiences.
Ryoko knew that Washu had yet to restore the mental link the two of them shared. She was afraid to have it restored, she knew she no longer had any barriers from which she could fight behind. She knew if it came to a mental kind of battle she would lose. Washu's world was based on her mind, her mental superiority. Ryoko's mind, although powerful in it's own way, had ground to a halt.
Her own skills were more physical in nature even though Ryoko knew Washu had the skills for that as well, she just chose to use her mental skills more. Ryoko realized that she could probably beat Washu on purely physical grounds; in her memories Washu had proven that on many occasions by losing, whether intentionally or not Ryoko couldn't be sure. Washu did love her, she knew this, but she just couldn't admit it to herself.
She now knew without a doubt that Washu was her mother, she could admit that Washu at least cared. Her mind had made the first step towards accepting that.
Turning slowly Ryoko looked back to where Washu had been standing, watching her. She wasn't there to her right so Ryoko looked towards the foot of the bed. Her mother sat on her floating cushion head bowed. Yosho, who had come silently into the room during Ryoko's introspection, stood with his hands on her shoulders. Washu's fingers were entwined with his. Ryoko watched as Yosho lean forward to say something in Washu's ear.
There was so much she didn't know about the woman who is her mother. Ryoko snorted she only knew what the universe knew or was told. The woman who sat listening to Yosho was an unknown to Ryoko. Washu was her mom but she just couldn't call her 'mom'. Ryoko knew who her mother was and it wasn't because Washu had tried to get her to call her that, but calling her anything other that Washu was hard. She had spent so much of her life thinking that Washu had no right whatsoever to the title, that even now that she knew the truth of her past, she still couldn't do it. Now it seemed she was the one that had no right to address Washu by that title since she'd had so little belief.
Ryoko closed her eyes. Her chest seemed to tighten as her mind dissected itself once again. The truth hurt. At this point Ryoko really understood the earth saying 'Ignorance is bliss'. Ryoko ignored the tears that slipped beneath her closed eyelids. "Washu forgive me," Ryoko whispered before allowing sleep to pull her under. She didn't see the old priest squeeze the scientist's shoulder at her words, nor the tear that escaped and ran down her mother's cheek.
~~~
We did it so what do you think?? Be a good little reader and leave a review and read Bobr's stuff, too. ^_^ M~
Hope you enjoy this. Oh yeah thanks for reading. Read Bobr's stuff. Happy Reading. M~
What is Forgiveness? By Meekachu
Chapter 6.
Ryoko's sword fizzled away as Tenchi knelt down beside her. He reached out but she pulled back. "I just want this nightmare to end. I want to die." She looked up at him, her golden eyes pleading. "Help me die."
"Ryoko, stop talking like that!" Tenchi said, moving towards the prone figure of the girl. Suddenly everything went black. Tenchi halted and waited; this did not feel like a good thing.
A single spotlight illuminated a battered red haired woman, suspended in the air by her arms. Tenchi felt himself being drawn closer to the woman. His heart pounded as he moved closer. Soon he could make out the features on the face and pain shot through him. He denied what was right in front of him.
"Look familiar Ryoko? She said I had something that wasn't mine. She said that that something didn't belong to anyone, it only belonged to itself," Kagato said moving out from behind the woman's body. She hung by her arms, her wrists were raw, bruises and cuts were vivid next to the white toga- like like dress she wore. The dress itself was no longer pristine; blood decorated it in dotted designs. Her magenta hair lay matted and shown as a stark contrast against her paleness. She looked up at the sound of Kagato's voice. Her emerald eyes widened at the figure that stood in the shadows. She whispered one word. "Ryoko."
Tenchi shivered as he felt a slender form pass through his body.
"Ryoko, tell her who you belong to," Kagato said with a smirk.
Tenchi watched as Ryoko moved further into the light. Her eyes were almost as green as Washu's and seemed to glow with their own light.
Ryoko cocked her head to the side slowly. She stared at Washu. "I.belong to.Kagato," she said watching Washu expression with apparent disinterest.
Kagato circled Washu. "You see, I have trained her well. Ryoko show the lady your gift."
Ryoko relaxed slightly at his words. She held her hand in front of Washu's face. Kagato laughed at Washu's look of horror as a glowing orb formed and flickered in Ryoko's outstretched palm.
"Tampering can be such fun Professor, don't you agree? Ryoko, show the professor the blade. Show her how you have no use for conventional weapons."
Ryoko squeezed her fist as if she was gripping a hilt of weapon. The orange blade flashed right next to Washu's face. Tenchi could hear the hum of the blade and Washu's sudden intake of breath as the blade formed right next to her face. He was frozen by dread.
"Ryoko, make it a scalpel. Make an incision from neck to waist." Kagato said, watching Ryoko who was still watching Washu. He grinned at Washu. "Most parents dream of their children becoming doctors or surgeons. Did you dream of Ryoko like that? Well, here she is."
The blade changed shape. Ryoko moved closer, the hand holding the blade trembled, the motion barely obvious and only noticeable because of the small space.
"Ryoko. Do. It." Kagato growled his eyes narrowing in anger.
The blade inched closer. Ryoko held the tip at Washu's throat and moved no further. The adult Washu swallowed hard and closed her eyes, tears flowing freely down her face.
Kagato stalked around to stand behind Ryoko. "I said cut!" He grabbed Ryoko's arm near the elbow and thrust it forward then pulled down. The glowing blade entered Washu's throat and moved down her body, parting robe and skin alike. Washu remained silent but her pain shown on her face. Tenchi was surprised that there was very little blood.
When the blade reached the area of her navel, her form disappeared in a flash of light. Kagato laughed maniacally as Ryoko fell to the floor, her eyes returning to their normal golden color. She sobbed uncontrollably.
Kagato laid a hand on her head, much as a father would in comforting a child. "Good Ryoko, very good." He turned and walked off into the shadows.
Tenchi didn't know whether to cry or be ill. He was beginning to understand why Ryoko acted the way she did with Washu and why Ayeka seemed so afraid of her at times. But it didn't change the way he felt about her, he still wanted the old Ryoko back and for everyone to be a family again. He started forward, wanting to take the shaking figure in his arms; to tell her how much she meant to him.
Ryoko looked up at his approach. "Don't come near me!" she yelled. "Didn't you see? I killed her!" Tenchi stopped. Ryoko dropped her head onto her chest. "I killed her. I killed my mother."
Tenchi kneeled down and held the sobbing girl against him, rubbing her shoulders and back. "No you didn't," he told her. "It was an illusion, it must be."
More sobs and a muffled voice from his shoulder. "She's dead. I did it. I'm all alone now."
Tenchi helped her to her feet. "No, you're not alone. You have me and Ayeka and Sasami. And even Mihoshi. We're all here. And Washu's not dead, you know that."
Ryoko looked up at his face and sniffed a couple of times. "Mommy? She's still alive?"
Tenchi nodded. Looking down he saw a puzzle piece. Not letting go of Ryoko, he knelt and picked it up, the puzzle that represented Ryoko's mind suddenly appearing before him. He noticed that the piece he held was the last one and he carefully fitted it into place. The imaginary world of Ryoko's memories faded out around him.
~~~~~
Back in the lab, Washu's hand slowly released her throat as she remembered where she was. Sweat was poring from every pore in her body. That never happened, she thought. "Bastard," she muttered. "He planted that memory. To give him absolute control over her, make her feel helpless." She glanced at where Yosho was hiding Sasami's eyes from the monitor and then over at Ayeka's still unconscious form set a little apart from the other two. Everything seemed in order. She hurried over to check the readings on the machines still hooked to her daughter and Tenchi.
"It's almost over," she told the others. "They'll be waking soon."
Yosho nodded. "And hopefully everything will be resolved. Are you ready to face her?"
Washu bowed her head. "Yes, I believe so. I understand now, but you knew long ago, didn't you?"
Yosho smiled weakly. "Indeed, seven hundred years ago Tsunami showed me these images. I had hoped that Ryoko could resolve the conflict herself. I'm glad she had friends to help."
"And her mother?"
"Yes, her mother too, although it took her a bit longer to find her lost daughter than I had hoped. It is said that time heals all wounds, Washu. It's been a long time since Ryoko had a mother; she needs one now."
"Yes." A single tear glistened on the scientist's cheek.
Yosho took Sasami by the hand. "Come sister, I think Washu needs some time to herself." He looked back at the scientist. "You will call if you need me or Sasami for anything?"
Washu could only nod.
~~~~~
Tenchi groaned softly as the world, or at least the bit of it within his range of vision, slowly gained focus. He sensed someone near him and managed to move his head enough to make out a small form. Washu? No, this form had two long ponytails and an odd darkish lump seated between them. Sasami then; and Ryo-ohki. He tried to speak but nothing came out except a quiet croaking noise.
Sasami giggled and covered her mouth. "Gee Tenchi, you sound like a sick frog." Tenchi managed a weak smile.
"That's because his throat is dried out from the oxygen mask I had on him," said a nasally voice from his other side. He moved his head around, his strength returning faster now.
"Washu," he whispered. "Ryoko.?"
"Ryoko's fine," the scientist said, patting Tenchi's shoulder. "She's in another room, still out. As soon as you're strong enough you can see her."
Tenchi tried to sit up but found he wasn't quite that recovered yet. "Is Ayeka all right?" he asked in a much stronger voice.
Washu looked over Tenchi at Sasami before answering. "The princess is going to be fine too. But I'm keeping her under until her wound heals a bit more."
"Wound?" Tenchi wondered out loud. And then he remembered. Ryoko attacking him in a fit of anger, Ayeka suddenly appearing between them and being run through by the other woman. "She wasn't badly injured, was she? Ryoko'll never forgive herself if she was. She didn't mean to do it."
"We know," Washu told him.
Sasami agreed, "We saw the whole thing on the monitors Tenchi, I know Ryoko didn't mean to hurt my sister and I think Ayeka will know it too."
"She'll be mad," Tenchi said. "At least at first." He reached out and grabbed Washu's shoulder gently. "I want to see Ryoko now, then Ayeka," he told her.
Washu helped Tenchi sit up then handed him a cup of water. He nodded gratefully and downed it in two swallows. "Slowly Tenchi," Washu admonished. "Too fast and you'll get sick." She handed him another cup, this time he took slow, careful sips.
~~~~~
Ryo-ohki bounced into the darkened room, rushing between Tenchi and Washu and almost causing Tenchi to trip. He cursed mildly under his breath then hurried over to the still form curled up on the hospital-like bed as fast as his still slightly wobbly legs would carry him. Ryo-ohki hopped up on the sheets and started purring as she curled up next to her master. Tenchi took this as a sign that Ryoko was going to be ok. The cabbit looked up at him with eyes that were almost a match for Ryoko's and he was reminded that the two shared a common genetic bond. He didn't care though; his thoughts were only for the young woman on the bed.
Tenchi looked down on Ryoko's peacefully sleeping form. A smile played about his lips as he saw her composed face. She really is beautiful, he thought, reaching out to stroke her cheek. She moaned and moved in her sleep.
Washu was suddenly at his side. "I don't think you should be here when she wakes up," she told the boy. "She'll remember you being in her mind and might associate that with what happened to her."
"Won't she do that anyway?" Tenchi asked as he reluctantly allowed Washu to guide him away.
"Maybe," Washu said. "But if you're not here to constantly remind her, the memories will lock into their proper perspectives faster." She opened the door for him. But don't worry; she won't wake up alone. I'll be here with her the whole time; that's how mothers are." The door closed between them and Washu never saw the odd look on Tenchi's face at her comment. Tenchi noticed that Ryo-ohki had stayed in the room too.
He found Sasami waiting for him when he turned around. "Come on Tenchi," the little princess said, taking his hand. "I'll take you to Ayeka now. Even though she's still asleep I know you're being there will make her feel better."
Tenchi allowed Sasami to lead him away but he kept looking back to the closed door that hid Ryoko and her mother.
~~~~~
Ryoko's eyes snapped open. At first she was disoriented, the last thing she remembered clearly was sitting under Funaho feeling sorry for herself. Everything after that was jumbled memories of Ayeka and Tenchi in situations they shouldn't have been in. And there was something about the princess being seriously hurt as well. She closed her eyes and tried to sort her mind into some semblance of order.
Her head hurt, even with her eyes closed. Opening them, she turned her head to figure out where she was; she had a suspicion, but really hoped that she wasn't right. She had developed a hearty fear of labs of any kind and Washu's pranks had done nothing to make it any better. She could feel her breathing become labored but there was nothing she could really do to stop it but get out. She shifted her attention to her arms and felt all the tubes and the wires that were attached to her body.
Washu, fitfully dozing with her head down on one of her consoles, heard the sheet covering her daughter rustle as Ryoko moved. Her head came up and she squinted in the dim light towards where Ryoko was supposedly resting. Moving quickly she went to check on her personally; as she stood, Washu's eyes quickly scanned the sensors that told her that Tenchi and Ayeka, now in separate rooms, were still deep asleep. Even in her rush to be with her daughter she was concerned about the others. Washu had learned something about herself from Ryoko's ordeal too.
Ryoko heard the machinery humming and buzzing quietly in the darkness; she wanted out, the old fears were rising like a flood. She really wanted out. She tugged weakly at the connections in her arms.
"Ryoko, honey, don't do that." Ryoko felt her heart stop as the voice that came out of the darkness. It was a voice that held a hidden longing and carefully masked pain. She didn't know how to respond so she temporarily retreated back into the shell that was so familiar to her.
"I would like to be left alone," Ryoko said turning her head to stare off into a darkened corner of Washu's lab, her voice was raspy from disuse and cold.
She didn't see Washu flinch at her tone. Ryoko wasn't sure how she felt, even though she understood, at least she thought she did, why Washu had done what she had. But her mind wasn't allowing her heart to accept it.
She knew she was still hurting Washu. Ryoko heard Washu's silent pleas, but her mind and heart were still unsure. Washu may say she cared about her, but her actions had never matched Ryoko's concept of caring.
Strangely enough she could accept the fact that Yosho, Tenchi and yes, even Ayeka were concerned about her. Ryoko snorted softly, whom was she kidding, it was concern but it also was something deeper, perhaps love. But the one person her love was most important to at the moment was standing next to her and she couldn't give it to her. Yet.
Washu had always been there but it took the shattering of her mind for her to see that. It was Washu who had held back her insanity, Washu who was that little point of light whenever she found herself lost in darkness. Washu had held her fears away when they had come close to devouring her. Washu had been the glue that held her mind together.
Until she had lost the thread that was Washu in her mind she hadn't realized how she had built everything on that thread. Without Washu her mind had unraveled. But now it was whole again, or at least as whole as it would ever be with her memories and experiences.
Ryoko knew that Washu had yet to restore the mental link the two of them shared. She was afraid to have it restored, she knew she no longer had any barriers from which she could fight behind. She knew if it came to a mental kind of battle she would lose. Washu's world was based on her mind, her mental superiority. Ryoko's mind, although powerful in it's own way, had ground to a halt.
Her own skills were more physical in nature even though Ryoko knew Washu had the skills for that as well, she just chose to use her mental skills more. Ryoko realized that she could probably beat Washu on purely physical grounds; in her memories Washu had proven that on many occasions by losing, whether intentionally or not Ryoko couldn't be sure. Washu did love her, she knew this, but she just couldn't admit it to herself.
She now knew without a doubt that Washu was her mother, she could admit that Washu at least cared. Her mind had made the first step towards accepting that.
Turning slowly Ryoko looked back to where Washu had been standing, watching her. She wasn't there to her right so Ryoko looked towards the foot of the bed. Her mother sat on her floating cushion head bowed. Yosho, who had come silently into the room during Ryoko's introspection, stood with his hands on her shoulders. Washu's fingers were entwined with his. Ryoko watched as Yosho lean forward to say something in Washu's ear.
There was so much she didn't know about the woman who is her mother. Ryoko snorted she only knew what the universe knew or was told. The woman who sat listening to Yosho was an unknown to Ryoko. Washu was her mom but she just couldn't call her 'mom'. Ryoko knew who her mother was and it wasn't because Washu had tried to get her to call her that, but calling her anything other that Washu was hard. She had spent so much of her life thinking that Washu had no right whatsoever to the title, that even now that she knew the truth of her past, she still couldn't do it. Now it seemed she was the one that had no right to address Washu by that title since she'd had so little belief.
Ryoko closed her eyes. Her chest seemed to tighten as her mind dissected itself once again. The truth hurt. At this point Ryoko really understood the earth saying 'Ignorance is bliss'. Ryoko ignored the tears that slipped beneath her closed eyelids. "Washu forgive me," Ryoko whispered before allowing sleep to pull her under. She didn't see the old priest squeeze the scientist's shoulder at her words, nor the tear that escaped and ran down her mother's cheek.
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