~Notes From Minagi~
I can explain! The long interval in between this chapter and last chapter has a lot of causes.
For one, technology hates me and is conspiring against me (my firewall crashed, killing our
computer for about a month and a half, damn it!). Also, I was stupid enough to get grounded for
a month. Of course, the reasons themselves were dumb…but what done is done, and I managed to
trick my mom into thinking that four weeks had passed when it was only three. I tried that
trick at two, but she didn't buy it, so I was stuck for yet another week. Lastly, I decided to
get "On Wings of Silver Moonlight" out there. It seemed like a good idea at the time!
Okay, my computer's a buttmunch, so I gotta cut this short. On with the story!
"Your dreams are premonitions?" Sasami asked, not wanting to believe what Ryoko had just told
the family. She knew that if they truly were premonitions, not only was her friend in danger,
she was as well.
Ryoko nodded, her face downcast, in response. Then, she turned to the rest around the dinner
table, hoping someone would say something. But when nothing came, she said, "Relatively,
Sasami-chan. What else could they be?" With that, she fell silent, looking down at the pillow
on which she was perched.
Aeka thought back to what had transpired that morning, trying to put it all together. But
everything seemed so unclear. All she could remember was Tenchi knocking on her door about ten
minutes ago, telling her and her sister that they needed to have a family meeting, then hearing
about her rival's dream, what had happened when she woke up, and her discovery. There were so
many questions shooting across her conscious mind. But, silently, in the back of her brain, a
sudden thought was forming.
"Okuda…" the princess blurted out quietly. The sudden break of silence caused everyone to look
at Aeka curiously.
"What about her, princess?" Ryoko asked, eyebrow quirked.
"She has something to do with this."
Kiyone wrinkled her forehead. "How do you figure?"
"Remember what happened at school? She caused it!" the purple hared girl persisted.
Standing up and giving Aeka a small smile, the summoner turned to the direction of Rei's room. "Aeka's right, Kiyone. It wouldn't hurt to ask."
~*~
10 November
Dear Diary,
This situation has gotten totally out of hand. This morning I woke up with blood splattered on
my hands and clothes. No need to ask who's it is, I already know. I saw it in my dream. I
wounded Ryoko with a bright blue sword. I didn't want to do it, but I had no control over
myself. A voice in my head kept repeating "Kill her. Kill her."
It's so hard to write down what's going on, because I really don't know. That voice in my head
has become quite frequent, and it's always saying the same thing. "Destroy the enemy. Kill
her." It took me a while to figure out whom the enemy was at first, but anymore I don't know
how it could've passed me up. Maybe if I had of figured it out sooner, none of this would've
happened.
I've lost all contact with Washuu, and I don't know why. It scares me. Now who can tell me why
I have a deep, insufferable longing to spill the blood of the one I've loved as my sister for
the longest time? I hate myself for feeling such things, yet part of my mind and soul screams
for it, and I can't help myself but to smile at the very thought of her life running through my
fingers and over my blade in the form of crimson water. But I don't even have a sword! Do I?
Anymore, it wouldn't surprise me.
So much for keeping my sanity.
~Kyoko
Kyoko set her diary aside and lay back on the exotic blue comforter on her futon.
"I don't know why I even bother," she sighed, referring to the medieval style book in which she
wrote down her thoughts. "Not like it helps anymore."
She slowly turned her eyes to her closed door as she began to hear silent footsteps making their
way to it. And, almost immediately, it opened to reveal Ryoko, Aeka, and Tenchi. Seeing them
reminded the girl that she hadn't put her eye drops in, so she quickly turned her head and
prayed they wouldn't notice their violet color.
"Yes?" she asked, siting up on her bed and staring down at her hands, which were clasped tightly
together in her lap.
Ryoko walked swiftly in the room, head held high, but paid for her display of pride. She
hunched over and wrapped her arm around her midsection, leaning on the back of a chair. Kyoko
couldn't help but glance up worriedly. She silently cursed herself for causing her partner's
pain.
"Ryoko-san, are you all right?" Tenchi asked, walking to her side.
The demon woman straightened, wiping her brow and nodding.
"Fine, fine," she replied, waving away his question.
Aeka followed the prince into the room. She stood beside Rei's mattress, wondering why the girl
didn't look up.
"Okuda-san, I'm going to be forward with you," she said, not really caring if she kept up her
proper appearance or not. "What are you hiding from us?"
"Hiding?" Kyoko asked in a falsely convincing tone.
"Yes, Rei. Hiding," Ryoko repeated.
"I'm not hiding anything!" The pirate insisted. She found it hard to keep her eyes down, and
eventually decided to get up and keep her mind occupied by searching for her eye drops. All the
while, she denied any knowledge of what had happened that morning.
After five minutes of questioning, Ryoko was getting frustrated. She knew Rei wasn't telling
the truth, and she hated being lied to. She was just about to blow up in anger when Sasami
walked briskly into the room and stood in front of Okuda, hand behind her back.
Kyoko looked from the drawer of her night stand to the little girl's back and noticed that there
was a tiny white bottle clasped tightly in her fingers. Trying to go unnoticed, she reached out
and took the bottle in her own hand and looked down at it.
My eye drops? She thought. How'd they get out of my room?
In a barely audible tone, Sasami whispered, "Ryo-ohki."
Chuckling, Kyoko nodded.
"Sasami-chan? What are you doing in here?" Aeka asked, totally confused. She had seen Rei take
something from her sister, but she didn't know what it was.
"I came in to tell you to stop!" the pig tailed girl whined. "You can't be sure whether she did
it or not! Besides," she turned around and stared up into Rei's face, smiling, "I trust her."
Ryoko stepped guardedly towards the little one. "But, Sasami…"
"No," Sasami ordered in an authoritative tone, turning to face the pirate, cold power gleaming
in her normally innocent eyes. Though she was nothing more than a child, her voice could hold
more strength and domination than her sister could ever dream of mustering. It actually scared
her, but when the girl of the second crown needed to use it, she let it all out. "I trust her,
Ryoko."
Everyone backed up in fear. No one had ever heard words dripping with so much force come out of
their beloved little cook's mouth. To them, she was their girl, the one who always kept a smile
on her face and childish giggles in her manner. Now they saw that she was so much more.
Ryoko gulped, attempting to speak, but found her voice lost somewhere in the depths of
surprise. So, instead, she nodded, turned on her heel, and quietly motioned for Aeka and Tenchi
to follow.
When the trio had left the room behind, Aeka finally spoke.
"Did you notice?"
Tenchi raised his eyebrow in confusion. "Notice what?"
"Her eyes," Ryoko grunted. She could tell she was over-doing herself; her wound had yet to stop
bleeding. The bandage she had put on before waking everyone up had a deep crimson stain on it,
and the incision itself stung, sending random jolts of electric like pain through her body.
"They weren't green," Aeka stated.
Back in Kyoko's room…
Sasami watched as her sister and friends walked side-by-side down the short, dimly lit hallway
of the apartment. She didn't like what she had just done, but she felt she had to do something.
"Sasami-chan?" Kyoko asked warily.
The princess turned around to see the red head looking at her worriedly. She smiled kindly, and
watched as Kyoko's shoulder's relaxed in relief.
"I'm thankful to you that you covered for me, but…" the pirate sighed heavily, "…I think the
game's over."
"We lost, didn't we?" Sasami asked, playing off the analogy.
Kyoko snorted silently, staring at the ground beneath her feet. "Yeah, we did. And though I
hate lying to Ryoko, for once I really wish I were. But…it WAS me that hurt Ryoko."
"I know, Kyoko-san. I know."
~*~
Mihoshi sat silently on the tan leather couch next to Kiyone, twiddling her thumbs in
anticipation of breakfast. She was getting bored of waiting, especially since no one had spoke
even a single word for at least a half an hour. She began to fidget in her seat as second after
second ticked by.
Finally, aggravated with her partner's obvious determination to keep busy, Kiyone turned her
attention to Mihoshi.
"Mihoshi-chan, why don't you go get Rei?"
Happy to finally have something to do, the blonde jumped off the couch and out of the room. She
stopped immediately outside Okuda's door and pressed her ear against it.
From inside it she could hear someone talking, but she couldn't understand them. The voice was
that of a man's, and it was deep and powerful, sending chills down Mihoshi's spine. After he
spoke, yet another muffled voice came through the wood of the door in response. It was
monotonous, emotionless, and almost lifeless. It sounded like Rei's, and yet it didn't.
Careful not to make any noise, Mihoshi opened the door a crack so she could hear exactly what
was being said. But nothing came. The room seemed to be empty.
A minute passed before the GP officer heard any signs of life. Footsteps made their way to the
door, and then it was pulled all the way open.
Overbalancing, Mihoshi fell forward and landed in a face to the ground, ass in the air position
on the floor. Peels of hearty laughter reached her ears from above her as she struggled to get
up.
Kyoko knelt down and took the ditz by the hand, pulling her to a standing position. "If you
wanted to come in, you should've said something! You didn't have to stand in the doorway!"
Mihoshi stumbled on her feet, threatening to fall again. She attempted to regain her balance,
but instead met the ground face first for a second time. Deciding it'd be best to stay down for
a while, she turned her head so the raven hared female was in her view.
"Who else was in here?" she asked.
Kyoko gave the blonde a look of confusion. "No one, why?"
Mihoshi quirked an eyebrow and slowly stood. "I heard someone else in here…a man."
"Well, I can assure you there's no one else but me. Now, what was it that you needed?"
The detective shook her head vigorously, trying to remember why she had come in the first place.
"It had something to do with…uh…"
Kyoko smiled, her brilliant green eyes catching the little light there was and giving off a
faint glare. "Is breakfast ready?"
"Oh yeah! Breakfast is ready!"
But the ex pirate had already begun the short journey down the hall, leaving the door wide
open. Out of curiosity, Mihoshi poked her head into the room but saw nothing. No signs of
force entry or exit, no signs of anyone hiding, nothing.
But I know I heard someone! She thought before following Kyoko back into the family room.
"Ryoko-san, are you all right?" Sasami asked. She watched as the demon continued to stare at
her plate, and yet look right through it to something greater. She had hardly touched her food,
and what she had touched she hadn't eaten. "Is your dream still bothering you?" When Ryoko
still didn't answer, the subject was dropped.
Breakfast had been unusually quiet so far, and Sasami didn't like it. She supposed everyone was
still in shock from hearing about Ryoko's discovery. She had to admit, she was dead scared
herself. If her friend's dreams were true, she was destined to die, and there was nothing she
could do.
"That's IT!" Ryoko screamed in aggravation, slamming her fists on the tabletop and pulling
everyone out of thought. "I'm sick and tired of this! If anyone needs me, I'll be on the
balcony!" With that, she stomped away from the table.
She stalked to the sliding glass, slid it open and stepped outside, slamming it shut. Then, she
glided to the railing and leaned forward on it.
She was sick of her dreams, and how convenient it was that she forgot the identity of her killer
when she woke up. She rested her head in her hands, throwing her vision into total blackness,
and drained out the world around her.
The summoner could still vividly picture the nightmare. The darkness, the shadow…its longing to
kill her had frozen Ryoko's blood inside her veins. And then…it had begun to cry, and only then
did Ryoko realize who it was. There must have been something in the way it cried, or…she didn't
know.
"I just want to know what's going on," she whispered, feeling a single, hot tear slide
gracefully down her cheek.
When she felt a pair of arms wrap tightly around her waist, Ryoko didn't even bother to react.
There was no real point; she knew who it was, so she remained leaning against the railing.
"I want it all to end," the pirate whispered to them. "Why can't it just go away?!"
Tenchi rested his chin gently on her shoulder blade before replying. "I know you want it to
end, but there's nothing we can do right now but wait."
Ryoko turned around to face the prince and started intently at his face. "I can't wait!" she
snapped. "You're asking me to wait for death to just come sweeping in and take over me, and I
can't do that! Not again!"
"Ryoko calm down! Calm down!!" he ordered, taking hold of her shoulders a giving them a little
shake.
The oni stopped in mid rant to stare at him angrily, but her glare didn't last long. Her face
fell and she turned once again, taking up her previous position. Tenchi backed off to the side,
his arm around her shoulders.
"I'm so tired of it all," she mumbled. "The shadow's cry is like an endless echo! It won't go
away! If I could…could only…remember…" Ryoko's voice gradually trailed off as she lost her
train of thought.
"I can't kill her!" Like a badly tuned radio, the girl's voice broke through the summoner's
mind. It had been those words that had sparked recognition in her dream. Now they were nothing
more to her than a ring in her brain that refused to end.
"I-I'm going back in, Tenchi," she said, shaking her head and walking to the door.
"Ryoko!" Tenchi called out to her in distress. She stopped, her hand halfway to the door
handle, and gave him a profile of her face. "Please…stop pushing me away…stop running…"
Ryoko's hand dropped to her side as she stood with her back to him. "I'm sorry," she muttered
after a moment's silence, "but it's all I know how to do anymore…run."
"Ryoko…"
She silently slid open the sliding glass and stepped inside. Hesitating, she turned back to her
love and gave him a falsely bright smile.
"Coming or not, Tenchi?" she chirped.
Tenchi knew she was faking it, but, nevertheless, he smiled and rolled his eyes.
"Right behind you," he answered.
Together, they walked through the various rooms of the under-sized apartment, laughing and
carrying on. Both were only vaguely aware when they reached the dining area.
That's when it happened…
People talk of déjà vu, and if Ryoko were to ever look back, that's exactly how she'd describe
it. But that's not what it was.
In a single, fleeting moment, a something inside of her told her to look over. In a swift,
almost undetectable instant, her mind worked overdrive, processing what she was seeing and
putting all she knew together like Washuu's computer. And then, time froze as reality smacked
Ryoko hard in the face.
That was it. That waterfall of black silk that gracefully spilled from her head to her back in
tight waves. It was only a cover for the straight fall of blood underneath. And the green of
her eyes. So beautiful, so radiant, so…unreal.
It was all a lie. The alter-dimension, the pill, everything. It was all created as a shield to
hide the truth.
"Kyoko…" she whispered, as though she had never heard the word before, "…it was YOU!"
The silence of the room intensified, until it could rightfully rival that of a mausoleum at
midnight. The one known as Okuda Rei spun around to see the demon staring intently at her. She
blinked hard.
"Na…nani?"
"It was YOU…" Ryoko said, louder this time. Then, as kind of an afterthought, she added,
"…Kyoko."
Kyoko closed her eyes, and her lips trembled before forming into a vicious smile. Tears of acid
green poured from beneath her lids. She slowly stood and drew from the air a wicked looking
sword hilt.
It was as black as death itself. The tip was pointed so sharply it appeared to be able to break
even the toughest of skins with a single touch. At the top, a crystal the sickening color of
blood perched half attached at the center.
The girl drew in a deep breath, and as she released it, a dazzling, electric blue blade not much
over a meter in length sprang out, forming a deadly sword. It gave off an aura identical in
color to the base, and the radiation of power was incredible. Along one of its sides, a deep,
ruby stain ran half the length of the blade.
Ryoko stood, completely bewildered. She looked from the sword to the trails of green on Rei's
pale skin to the scar and back. She had become overwhelmed by the extra energy that bounced
through the room. It conquered her senses until she could hardly think.
"Ky-Kyoko?" she stammered as she felt her head begin to pound.
Kyoko's now faintly glowing eyes snapped open, yet the malicious smile remained.
"Good job, Ryoko," she sneered in a sharp voice that echoed around the room. "It only took you,
what, seven months?"
Sasami, who had been standing off to the side, dashed to Ryoko's side just as she fell. Tenchi
quickly followed. Aeka remained where she was, yet still played her part. She brought fourth
her logs in defense, and Kiyone drew her blaster.
"Stop, Kyoko!" Aeka screamed.
Kyoko laughed in response, sending a powerful blast of energy charging at the princess. Sasami
called for her sister just as Aeka crashed into the table, barely managing to avoid being hit.
"Oneesan!" the child screamed. She attempted to get to Aeka, but found herself blocked off by
the pirate-gone-mad.
"I don't think so," Kyoko sneered.
Though her whole body was shaking in fear and her mind raced as fast as it could, Sasami took
another step forward, staring deeply into Kyoko's burning eyes. She could try for a
psychological attack and attempt to reach the true Kyoko. It had worked in the past, hadn't it?
Actually, when the princess thought about it, she had always stayed on the sidelines, scared.
When they faced Kagato, she cried for Tsunami. When they were up against an entire Galaxy
Police fleet and Yagami crashed, she clung to Washuu like a child to its mother.
But I don't want to be scared anymore, she thought, balling up her left fist and extending her
right hand to Kyoko, who, miraculously, had stayed eye to eye, locked in a stare-down with Sasami.
"Kyoko, this isn't you," she said timidly. "Look at you! Look at your sword! It's stained
with Ryoko's blood! Ryoko! Your best friend!"
"Sasami, stop!" Aeka screamed at her sister, attempting to remove herself from the remains of
the broken table. To her, Kyoko was dangerous, one who would stop at nothing to kill anyone who
got in her way. There was no use reasoning.
Sasami didn't even glance at Aeka. She gave no thought to what had been said and continued.
"If we could just get a hold of Washuu, I'm sure she'd know what to do!"
Kyoko blinked, seeming confused. She slowly raised her sword and stared at it; at the stain
that dimmed the aura of the blade. Before she had found pleasure in it. Now that Sasami had
said something, she saw something else…something more. It was…it was…
Glory. Sick, twisted glory.
"That was beautiful, Sasami," she whispered, giving the girl a false sense of hope. "Except for
one thing."
The raven hared killer turned, the glowing in her eyes growing brighter, to the girl. Slowly,
she glided over and grabbed Sasami by the neck, lifting her several centimeters off the ground.
"You see, I was the one who cut off the link with Washuu."
"Let her go!"
The voice of Ryoko rang out cold and hard, merciless. Kyoko spun around to see the one she once
called her sister glaring at her.
Though the pain in her stomach raged like flames, Ryoko stood her ground.
"Let her go, I said! If it's me you want, I'm right here!"
Slowly, the pressure on her victim's throat was released. Kyoko didn't know what to do. It was
one thing to hurt Ryoko when she was sleeping, when she can't do anything about it. It was
another to hurt her when she could fight back.
But I must destroy the enemy! She mentally screamed.
"But is she truly the enemy?" A quiet voice replied.
Yes! She is! They all are! They must die!
Kyoko clung to her head and stumbled, eyes clenched tightly.
"Why? Why must they die?" The voice, it was so calm, almost understanding. It was driving the
pirate to a breakdown.
Because! I have been told!
"Kyoko! Come get me!" Ryoko could see her friend was losing it. "If it's the only way to stop
this!"
If it's the only way to stop this…Kyoko repeated.
"The only way to stop this is-"
"NO!! I MUST DESTROY THE ENEMY!!"
And with that, the true Space Pirate Kyoko fell, lost, into the depths of her own soul, finally
conquered by the monster that had been eating away at her mind since day one. Now she knew no
mercy, she knew no pity. All she knew were bloodshed and a sadistic longing to cause others pain.
Straightening, she gave Ryoko a piercing glare.
"I'll be back…" she sneered as she faded from sight. A silence like that which conquers one at
death settled over the room.
"I don't understand," Ryoko whispered, raking her hand through her hair in distress and leaning
against the wall. She let her head fall to her chest and closed her eyes. "Where could I have
gone wrong?"
"Ryoko, you shouldn't blame this on yourself," Kiyone said. She realized she had been glued to
her spot in fear and she still had her blaster tightly clasped in her hand. Her knuckles were
cramping and locking, and the skin covering them was pure white. She relaxed, prying the weapon
from her blood-deprived fingers. "You didn't know."
Mihoshi pulled the blanket off of her head. She had used it to block out what was happening
around her when Kyoko went crazy. She creeped out from her place of hiding in the corner and
immediately dashed to her partner's side, throwing her arms around Kiyone's stomach.
"Kiyone! That was really scary! What happened, Kiyone? Kiyoneeeeeee?!"
"Ack! Mihoshi, lemme go! Can't breathe!" Kiyone said, beating the blonde on top of the head.
Ryoko looked up to survey the scene, and she couldn't help but chuckle. Sasami, who was little
more than half her sister's size, was attempting to pull Aeka up from the broken table. The
first crown princess, with noodles in her hair and stains on her dress, looked rather aggravated
that it wasn't working. As for Kiyone's problems, well, Ryoko really pitied the police officer.
Mihoshi didn't appear to want to let go any time soon, despite the continuous thumps to her head.
"Hey!" Tenchi said from off to the side. During the fight he had stayed where he was as well,
completely unsure of what to do. "Hey, Ryoko, that was the first time I've heard you truly
laugh in days!"
Ryoko turned her eyes and smirked at him. "Yeah, well…"
"So," Sasami grunted as she once again pulled on her sister's arm with all her strength, "what
are we going to do now?" Giving up, she let Aeka's wrist go and plopped down on the floor where
she stood.
"Well, first off," the remaining pirate began, "kudos to you, Sasami-chan. What you did took
guts."
The child blushed and scratched the back of her head, mumbling about how it didn't work.
"That makes no difference. Sasami, you were very brave."
Sasami's face broke into a wide grin.
Ryoko smiled back before continuing.
"Second, I know what were dealing with, and it's not Kyoko. It's something much greater, much
more powerful. It won't stop until it's done what it needs to do."
"What do you mean, Ryoko?" Aeka asked, finally free from the remains of breakfast.
"I mean Kyoko can't stop until we're all dead, not just me."
Gasps arose from everyone in the room. Even the walls themselves seemed surprised.
"Ryoko, no!" Sasami cried.
"I'm sorry, Sasami, but not even I can stop a grudge held through death."
"24 October
Dear Diary,
You know, it's very odd to go back through my journals and relive my time in space, on Earth,
and even now. It's one of those things where you either remember you did it and you loved it,
remember you did it and you hated it, or you don't remember it at all. Take the time Ryoko and
I ran around the ship dancing madly to music. Well, no, let me rephrase that. I was dancing
madly, she was doing lip synchs. I recall it all so clearly. That was the day I decided that I
should get the beverages from then on…"
Ryoko chuckled as she read Kyoko's diary. She remembered that day as well. And the funny thing
was, she couldn't remember the next day. Well, actually she could, and it basically consisted
of a pounding headache and a raging stomachache, compliments of her hangover.
"What's so funny, Ryoko?" Tenchi asked, coming up to her from behind the couch. He leaned over
her shoulder, read the passage, and found himself laughing. "You're kidding me! She actually
trusted you to buy drinks?"
Unfortunately, the successor was so busy making fun of Ryoko that he failed to see the pillow
coming at him. Only when it smacked him in the face did he sense anything.
"Shut up, boy!" the summoner said with false anger, taking another swing at his head with the
blandly colored cushion.
Tenchi blocked it with his hand easily. "So, what do you know now?" he asked, gesturing to the
book that lay open in Ryoko's lap.
"Nothing really," Ryoko sighed. "At least, nothing that I hadn't already figured out."
"Shove over," Tenchi said. Ryoko adjusted so he had room, and he sat down next to her. "So,
what had you figured out?"
"Well, for one thing, both Washuu and Sasami knew about it, although Sasami never came into the
picture until we got to this world. For another…Kyoko's known that she was the cause of
everything since a few weeks after she came. She ran to Washuu in fear, and I guess it all
spilled out from there-"
"Wait, wait," the prince interrupted, holding up his hand to stop his girlfriend. "You mean to
tell me Sasami-chan learned everything before we did?"
Ryoko nodded.
"Do you think that's why she's in danger?"
"Oh, that's exactly why she's in danger. She knew, we didn't."
The two fell silent, staring down at the dirty pages of the little black book. Ryoko flicked to
the next page, deep in thought.
There was something that she hadn't mentioned. Something else that she knew, something the
others didn't. If she said it, the reaction definitely wouldn't be good. She kept telling
herself she hadn't told anyone about it yet for their sake, but at the same time she knew that
wasn't why. She feared the truth, how it all fit together so perfectly. It scared her deeply.
Without thinking, Ryoko began to hum quietly. It was a song she knew all too well, and yet one
she had never wanted to hear again.
"Hey, I know this song," Tenchi said. "Kyoko hummed it all the time!"
"Yeah…" the demon said softly. You have no idea, Tenchi, she thought, inwardly shaking her head.
Tenchi looked over to Ryoko. He had never seen her so sad and scared.
"We'll make it through this, Ryoko-chan. I promise."
Ryoko stood up and tossed the diary down where she had been sitting. "What do you mean, 'we'?
It's never me that does anything, it's always you. I just get the shit beat out of me."
"It doesn't always have to be that way, you know."
Ryoko began to reply, but stopped when Aeka entered the room. The two made eye contact, though
nothing was said until the princess was seated.
"Tenchi's right, Ryoko. Have faith." Aeka's voice deceived her. She didn't believe it either,
and it showed. She had no hope.
"Have you guys seen Sasami?" Kiyone asked, poking her head in the door from the kitchen.
Tenchi, Ryoko, and Aeka all shook their heads no, and Ryoko said to ask Mihoshi. Kiyone mumbled
something like, "I'm not going to bother if she's with Mihoshi," and quickly disappeared back
around the corner.
"So," Aeka asked when the officer was out of sight, "what do we know now?"
Ryoko took a deep breath and faced her rival. "Kyoko, Washuu, and Sasami have known everything
longer than any of us, and that's why Sasami's on the line."
"Hmmm, what a comfort."
The pirate smirked.
Kiyone stalked out of the kitchen, an overstuffed and half-eaten turkey sandwich in her fist.
She walked through the living room, not bothering to say anything before reaching the hallway.
"Mihoshi! Sasami!" she called down the short corridor as she continued to the last door. She
knocked twice before entering.
The three in the main room turned back to each other, ready to finish discussing the topic at
hand when they heard Kiyone's high-pitched screech. Tenchi, Ryoko, and Aeka shot out of the
room in the blink of an eye, and they were standing in the doorway merely seconds after their
friend had screamed.
Kiyone was leaning over an unconscious Mihoshi, who was sprawled face down on her futon. She
had a large, bloody gash in the back of her head that had ripped most of her hair out of the
ponytail when it had been given. When Kiyone shook her repeatedly, she did not awaken. Her
head just rolled from side to side, her face remaining glued to the mattress.
The most sickening part, however, was not the ditz's limp form, sticky crimson locks, or
Ryo-ohki, who lay right beside Mihoshi, just as helpless. It was what they couldn't see.
"Oh my God!" Aeka screamed, running over to the two. She stood above the bed, knuckles pressed
to her mouth in fear. "What happened? Where's Sasami?"
"I don't know!" Kiyone frantically replied, giving her partner another good shake. "I found her
just like this!"
Tenchi walked over to the bed as well, but Ryoko remained frozen in her spot.
"Ryo-ohki…" she meekly called to her companion.
She got a choked "mew" in response, and the cabbit staggered to its feet. She took a few uneasy
steps before falling back to the ground. Seeing and understanding her pain, Ryoko glided over
and scooped the creature into her arms.
"What happened?" she whispered. Ryo-ohki gave her a bleary look before replying with one single
"Miya". Ryoko stared.
"What happened, Ryoko-chan?" Tenchi asked, prepared for the worst.
The oni looked up at him, large tears brimming in her golden eyes. "Kyoko came back."
"What?" Aeka said, shocked.
"Kyoko came back, and now Sasami is gone!"
The young heiress took Ryoko by the collar and brought her close, till they were almost nose to
nose. Aeka's hot breath smelled of fear, and her voice quivered as she spoke.
"Tell me," she whimpered, "please tell me you're not serious. Tell me you misunderstood!"
"I can't…" Ryoko said, pushing Aeka off of her with all her might. "I can't tell you that…
There's nothing I can do!"
"But there must be, Ryoko! You know what we're up against!"
"There isn't! I'm powerless!"
Aeka tried to keep her ground, but was finding it harder and harder as each second passed.
Ryoko knew more than what she was telling, that was obvious. That fact alone hurt Aeka deeper
than she could really bear. Now her sister had been kidnapped by the enemy and was most likely
soon to die.
Ryoko didn't know how much that one piece of information that she held secret could help, even
if only Aeka's heart.
"What are you hiding from us, Ryoko-san?" she cried, into her hands.
Ryoko opened her mouth to answer, but found no words. She couldn't tell, Aeka wasn't strong
enough. She herself could hardly stand the truth. So instead, she turned her attention to
Ryo-ohki, who lay curled up in her arms.
"Ryo-ohki, are you all right?"
The tiny creature opened one small, amber eye; her only physical response.
But silently, deep inside Ryoko's mind, a quiet voice asked her why she didn't tell.
"I'm sorry, Ryo-ohki…but I can't."
"Ryoko, stop avoiding the subject!" Tenchi intervened. "Please, tell us!"
Ryoko turned her back to the world, shaking in distress.
"No…" she whispered. "This is one thing I must face up to on my own…I will get Sasami back…but
I must do it by myself…"
"Ryoko…" Tenchi sighed sadly, placing his hand on her shoulder. He didn't know what to do. He
struggled to be calm, but found it impossible. I don't want to be angry with you! He mentally
shouted. But you're making it so difficult! "…Why must you be so stubborn?!"
"Why can't you understand?" she spat back, keeping her ground. "It's not like I wanted this!
It's not like…"
A groan rose from the bed as the blonde officer stirred. Slowly, she sat up, swaying. The futon
seemed to be moving like a ship in turbulent waters. Her head throbbed, and colors she didn't
even know existed danced in front of her eyes. She groped around the mattress for the little
cook she was once with, but instead found her partner's hand. She grabbed it and squeezed it
tightly, attempting to speak.
"Ki-Kiyon-ne…" Mihoshi stuttered, her voice a high pitched squeak, "I-it was-s terrible! He
j-just ca-came out of no-nowhere and-d attacked us! She was with him, b-but she was-n't hers-
self! I was s-so scared!"
Kiyone brought her friend in, embracing her, protecting her. Mihoshi sobbed into her friend's
shoulder, happy to be alive.
Tenchi, on the other hand, surveyed the scene, a small flicker of a smile playing on his lips.
"He." He had heard the word "He" in Mihoshi's story. Meaning…
"Mihoshi-chan?" he asked. He waited for her tears to calm before asking his question. "Do you
know who attacked you?"
"Mihoshi, no!" Ryoko ordered, trying to stop her from saying it. But it was no use.
The blonde nodded. "It-t was-s Ky-yoko and K-K-Ka-gato…"
~Notes from Minagi~
So, whatcha think? Don't worry, everything will be explained in the next chapter. Don't forget
to review, so I know you haven't forgotten about me!
~Minagi
ps. Word of advice for the future. As I have found out in the course of the past few months,
it is not a bad thing to talk to inanimate objects, nor is it a bad sign when they start talking
back. Now, when they start cussing you out, that's when you can start worrying. Kay? Just
thought I'd clear that up.
I can explain! The long interval in between this chapter and last chapter has a lot of causes.
For one, technology hates me and is conspiring against me (my firewall crashed, killing our
computer for about a month and a half, damn it!). Also, I was stupid enough to get grounded for
a month. Of course, the reasons themselves were dumb…but what done is done, and I managed to
trick my mom into thinking that four weeks had passed when it was only three. I tried that
trick at two, but she didn't buy it, so I was stuck for yet another week. Lastly, I decided to
get "On Wings of Silver Moonlight" out there. It seemed like a good idea at the time!
Okay, my computer's a buttmunch, so I gotta cut this short. On with the story!
"Your dreams are premonitions?" Sasami asked, not wanting to believe what Ryoko had just told
the family. She knew that if they truly were premonitions, not only was her friend in danger,
she was as well.
Ryoko nodded, her face downcast, in response. Then, she turned to the rest around the dinner
table, hoping someone would say something. But when nothing came, she said, "Relatively,
Sasami-chan. What else could they be?" With that, she fell silent, looking down at the pillow
on which she was perched.
Aeka thought back to what had transpired that morning, trying to put it all together. But
everything seemed so unclear. All she could remember was Tenchi knocking on her door about ten
minutes ago, telling her and her sister that they needed to have a family meeting, then hearing
about her rival's dream, what had happened when she woke up, and her discovery. There were so
many questions shooting across her conscious mind. But, silently, in the back of her brain, a
sudden thought was forming.
"Okuda…" the princess blurted out quietly. The sudden break of silence caused everyone to look
at Aeka curiously.
"What about her, princess?" Ryoko asked, eyebrow quirked.
"She has something to do with this."
Kiyone wrinkled her forehead. "How do you figure?"
"Remember what happened at school? She caused it!" the purple hared girl persisted.
Standing up and giving Aeka a small smile, the summoner turned to the direction of Rei's room. "Aeka's right, Kiyone. It wouldn't hurt to ask."
~*~
10 November
Dear Diary,
This situation has gotten totally out of hand. This morning I woke up with blood splattered on
my hands and clothes. No need to ask who's it is, I already know. I saw it in my dream. I
wounded Ryoko with a bright blue sword. I didn't want to do it, but I had no control over
myself. A voice in my head kept repeating "Kill her. Kill her."
It's so hard to write down what's going on, because I really don't know. That voice in my head
has become quite frequent, and it's always saying the same thing. "Destroy the enemy. Kill
her." It took me a while to figure out whom the enemy was at first, but anymore I don't know
how it could've passed me up. Maybe if I had of figured it out sooner, none of this would've
happened.
I've lost all contact with Washuu, and I don't know why. It scares me. Now who can tell me why
I have a deep, insufferable longing to spill the blood of the one I've loved as my sister for
the longest time? I hate myself for feeling such things, yet part of my mind and soul screams
for it, and I can't help myself but to smile at the very thought of her life running through my
fingers and over my blade in the form of crimson water. But I don't even have a sword! Do I?
Anymore, it wouldn't surprise me.
So much for keeping my sanity.
~Kyoko
Kyoko set her diary aside and lay back on the exotic blue comforter on her futon.
"I don't know why I even bother," she sighed, referring to the medieval style book in which she
wrote down her thoughts. "Not like it helps anymore."
She slowly turned her eyes to her closed door as she began to hear silent footsteps making their
way to it. And, almost immediately, it opened to reveal Ryoko, Aeka, and Tenchi. Seeing them
reminded the girl that she hadn't put her eye drops in, so she quickly turned her head and
prayed they wouldn't notice their violet color.
"Yes?" she asked, siting up on her bed and staring down at her hands, which were clasped tightly
together in her lap.
Ryoko walked swiftly in the room, head held high, but paid for her display of pride. She
hunched over and wrapped her arm around her midsection, leaning on the back of a chair. Kyoko
couldn't help but glance up worriedly. She silently cursed herself for causing her partner's
pain.
"Ryoko-san, are you all right?" Tenchi asked, walking to her side.
The demon woman straightened, wiping her brow and nodding.
"Fine, fine," she replied, waving away his question.
Aeka followed the prince into the room. She stood beside Rei's mattress, wondering why the girl
didn't look up.
"Okuda-san, I'm going to be forward with you," she said, not really caring if she kept up her
proper appearance or not. "What are you hiding from us?"
"Hiding?" Kyoko asked in a falsely convincing tone.
"Yes, Rei. Hiding," Ryoko repeated.
"I'm not hiding anything!" The pirate insisted. She found it hard to keep her eyes down, and
eventually decided to get up and keep her mind occupied by searching for her eye drops. All the
while, she denied any knowledge of what had happened that morning.
After five minutes of questioning, Ryoko was getting frustrated. She knew Rei wasn't telling
the truth, and she hated being lied to. She was just about to blow up in anger when Sasami
walked briskly into the room and stood in front of Okuda, hand behind her back.
Kyoko looked from the drawer of her night stand to the little girl's back and noticed that there
was a tiny white bottle clasped tightly in her fingers. Trying to go unnoticed, she reached out
and took the bottle in her own hand and looked down at it.
My eye drops? She thought. How'd they get out of my room?
In a barely audible tone, Sasami whispered, "Ryo-ohki."
Chuckling, Kyoko nodded.
"Sasami-chan? What are you doing in here?" Aeka asked, totally confused. She had seen Rei take
something from her sister, but she didn't know what it was.
"I came in to tell you to stop!" the pig tailed girl whined. "You can't be sure whether she did
it or not! Besides," she turned around and stared up into Rei's face, smiling, "I trust her."
Ryoko stepped guardedly towards the little one. "But, Sasami…"
"No," Sasami ordered in an authoritative tone, turning to face the pirate, cold power gleaming
in her normally innocent eyes. Though she was nothing more than a child, her voice could hold
more strength and domination than her sister could ever dream of mustering. It actually scared
her, but when the girl of the second crown needed to use it, she let it all out. "I trust her,
Ryoko."
Everyone backed up in fear. No one had ever heard words dripping with so much force come out of
their beloved little cook's mouth. To them, she was their girl, the one who always kept a smile
on her face and childish giggles in her manner. Now they saw that she was so much more.
Ryoko gulped, attempting to speak, but found her voice lost somewhere in the depths of
surprise. So, instead, she nodded, turned on her heel, and quietly motioned for Aeka and Tenchi
to follow.
When the trio had left the room behind, Aeka finally spoke.
"Did you notice?"
Tenchi raised his eyebrow in confusion. "Notice what?"
"Her eyes," Ryoko grunted. She could tell she was over-doing herself; her wound had yet to stop
bleeding. The bandage she had put on before waking everyone up had a deep crimson stain on it,
and the incision itself stung, sending random jolts of electric like pain through her body.
"They weren't green," Aeka stated.
Back in Kyoko's room…
Sasami watched as her sister and friends walked side-by-side down the short, dimly lit hallway
of the apartment. She didn't like what she had just done, but she felt she had to do something.
"Sasami-chan?" Kyoko asked warily.
The princess turned around to see the red head looking at her worriedly. She smiled kindly, and
watched as Kyoko's shoulder's relaxed in relief.
"I'm thankful to you that you covered for me, but…" the pirate sighed heavily, "…I think the
game's over."
"We lost, didn't we?" Sasami asked, playing off the analogy.
Kyoko snorted silently, staring at the ground beneath her feet. "Yeah, we did. And though I
hate lying to Ryoko, for once I really wish I were. But…it WAS me that hurt Ryoko."
"I know, Kyoko-san. I know."
~*~
Mihoshi sat silently on the tan leather couch next to Kiyone, twiddling her thumbs in
anticipation of breakfast. She was getting bored of waiting, especially since no one had spoke
even a single word for at least a half an hour. She began to fidget in her seat as second after
second ticked by.
Finally, aggravated with her partner's obvious determination to keep busy, Kiyone turned her
attention to Mihoshi.
"Mihoshi-chan, why don't you go get Rei?"
Happy to finally have something to do, the blonde jumped off the couch and out of the room. She
stopped immediately outside Okuda's door and pressed her ear against it.
From inside it she could hear someone talking, but she couldn't understand them. The voice was
that of a man's, and it was deep and powerful, sending chills down Mihoshi's spine. After he
spoke, yet another muffled voice came through the wood of the door in response. It was
monotonous, emotionless, and almost lifeless. It sounded like Rei's, and yet it didn't.
Careful not to make any noise, Mihoshi opened the door a crack so she could hear exactly what
was being said. But nothing came. The room seemed to be empty.
A minute passed before the GP officer heard any signs of life. Footsteps made their way to the
door, and then it was pulled all the way open.
Overbalancing, Mihoshi fell forward and landed in a face to the ground, ass in the air position
on the floor. Peels of hearty laughter reached her ears from above her as she struggled to get
up.
Kyoko knelt down and took the ditz by the hand, pulling her to a standing position. "If you
wanted to come in, you should've said something! You didn't have to stand in the doorway!"
Mihoshi stumbled on her feet, threatening to fall again. She attempted to regain her balance,
but instead met the ground face first for a second time. Deciding it'd be best to stay down for
a while, she turned her head so the raven hared female was in her view.
"Who else was in here?" she asked.
Kyoko gave the blonde a look of confusion. "No one, why?"
Mihoshi quirked an eyebrow and slowly stood. "I heard someone else in here…a man."
"Well, I can assure you there's no one else but me. Now, what was it that you needed?"
The detective shook her head vigorously, trying to remember why she had come in the first place.
"It had something to do with…uh…"
Kyoko smiled, her brilliant green eyes catching the little light there was and giving off a
faint glare. "Is breakfast ready?"
"Oh yeah! Breakfast is ready!"
But the ex pirate had already begun the short journey down the hall, leaving the door wide
open. Out of curiosity, Mihoshi poked her head into the room but saw nothing. No signs of
force entry or exit, no signs of anyone hiding, nothing.
But I know I heard someone! She thought before following Kyoko back into the family room.
"Ryoko-san, are you all right?" Sasami asked. She watched as the demon continued to stare at
her plate, and yet look right through it to something greater. She had hardly touched her food,
and what she had touched she hadn't eaten. "Is your dream still bothering you?" When Ryoko
still didn't answer, the subject was dropped.
Breakfast had been unusually quiet so far, and Sasami didn't like it. She supposed everyone was
still in shock from hearing about Ryoko's discovery. She had to admit, she was dead scared
herself. If her friend's dreams were true, she was destined to die, and there was nothing she
could do.
"That's IT!" Ryoko screamed in aggravation, slamming her fists on the tabletop and pulling
everyone out of thought. "I'm sick and tired of this! If anyone needs me, I'll be on the
balcony!" With that, she stomped away from the table.
She stalked to the sliding glass, slid it open and stepped outside, slamming it shut. Then, she
glided to the railing and leaned forward on it.
She was sick of her dreams, and how convenient it was that she forgot the identity of her killer
when she woke up. She rested her head in her hands, throwing her vision into total blackness,
and drained out the world around her.
The summoner could still vividly picture the nightmare. The darkness, the shadow…its longing to
kill her had frozen Ryoko's blood inside her veins. And then…it had begun to cry, and only then
did Ryoko realize who it was. There must have been something in the way it cried, or…she didn't
know.
"I just want to know what's going on," she whispered, feeling a single, hot tear slide
gracefully down her cheek.
When she felt a pair of arms wrap tightly around her waist, Ryoko didn't even bother to react.
There was no real point; she knew who it was, so she remained leaning against the railing.
"I want it all to end," the pirate whispered to them. "Why can't it just go away?!"
Tenchi rested his chin gently on her shoulder blade before replying. "I know you want it to
end, but there's nothing we can do right now but wait."
Ryoko turned around to face the prince and started intently at his face. "I can't wait!" she
snapped. "You're asking me to wait for death to just come sweeping in and take over me, and I
can't do that! Not again!"
"Ryoko calm down! Calm down!!" he ordered, taking hold of her shoulders a giving them a little
shake.
The oni stopped in mid rant to stare at him angrily, but her glare didn't last long. Her face
fell and she turned once again, taking up her previous position. Tenchi backed off to the side,
his arm around her shoulders.
"I'm so tired of it all," she mumbled. "The shadow's cry is like an endless echo! It won't go
away! If I could…could only…remember…" Ryoko's voice gradually trailed off as she lost her
train of thought.
"I can't kill her!" Like a badly tuned radio, the girl's voice broke through the summoner's
mind. It had been those words that had sparked recognition in her dream. Now they were nothing
more to her than a ring in her brain that refused to end.
"I-I'm going back in, Tenchi," she said, shaking her head and walking to the door.
"Ryoko!" Tenchi called out to her in distress. She stopped, her hand halfway to the door
handle, and gave him a profile of her face. "Please…stop pushing me away…stop running…"
Ryoko's hand dropped to her side as she stood with her back to him. "I'm sorry," she muttered
after a moment's silence, "but it's all I know how to do anymore…run."
"Ryoko…"
She silently slid open the sliding glass and stepped inside. Hesitating, she turned back to her
love and gave him a falsely bright smile.
"Coming or not, Tenchi?" she chirped.
Tenchi knew she was faking it, but, nevertheless, he smiled and rolled his eyes.
"Right behind you," he answered.
Together, they walked through the various rooms of the under-sized apartment, laughing and
carrying on. Both were only vaguely aware when they reached the dining area.
That's when it happened…
People talk of déjà vu, and if Ryoko were to ever look back, that's exactly how she'd describe
it. But that's not what it was.
In a single, fleeting moment, a something inside of her told her to look over. In a swift,
almost undetectable instant, her mind worked overdrive, processing what she was seeing and
putting all she knew together like Washuu's computer. And then, time froze as reality smacked
Ryoko hard in the face.
That was it. That waterfall of black silk that gracefully spilled from her head to her back in
tight waves. It was only a cover for the straight fall of blood underneath. And the green of
her eyes. So beautiful, so radiant, so…unreal.
It was all a lie. The alter-dimension, the pill, everything. It was all created as a shield to
hide the truth.
"Kyoko…" she whispered, as though she had never heard the word before, "…it was YOU!"
The silence of the room intensified, until it could rightfully rival that of a mausoleum at
midnight. The one known as Okuda Rei spun around to see the demon staring intently at her. She
blinked hard.
"Na…nani?"
"It was YOU…" Ryoko said, louder this time. Then, as kind of an afterthought, she added,
"…Kyoko."
Kyoko closed her eyes, and her lips trembled before forming into a vicious smile. Tears of acid
green poured from beneath her lids. She slowly stood and drew from the air a wicked looking
sword hilt.
It was as black as death itself. The tip was pointed so sharply it appeared to be able to break
even the toughest of skins with a single touch. At the top, a crystal the sickening color of
blood perched half attached at the center.
The girl drew in a deep breath, and as she released it, a dazzling, electric blue blade not much
over a meter in length sprang out, forming a deadly sword. It gave off an aura identical in
color to the base, and the radiation of power was incredible. Along one of its sides, a deep,
ruby stain ran half the length of the blade.
Ryoko stood, completely bewildered. She looked from the sword to the trails of green on Rei's
pale skin to the scar and back. She had become overwhelmed by the extra energy that bounced
through the room. It conquered her senses until she could hardly think.
"Ky-Kyoko?" she stammered as she felt her head begin to pound.
Kyoko's now faintly glowing eyes snapped open, yet the malicious smile remained.
"Good job, Ryoko," she sneered in a sharp voice that echoed around the room. "It only took you,
what, seven months?"
Sasami, who had been standing off to the side, dashed to Ryoko's side just as she fell. Tenchi
quickly followed. Aeka remained where she was, yet still played her part. She brought fourth
her logs in defense, and Kiyone drew her blaster.
"Stop, Kyoko!" Aeka screamed.
Kyoko laughed in response, sending a powerful blast of energy charging at the princess. Sasami
called for her sister just as Aeka crashed into the table, barely managing to avoid being hit.
"Oneesan!" the child screamed. She attempted to get to Aeka, but found herself blocked off by
the pirate-gone-mad.
"I don't think so," Kyoko sneered.
Though her whole body was shaking in fear and her mind raced as fast as it could, Sasami took
another step forward, staring deeply into Kyoko's burning eyes. She could try for a
psychological attack and attempt to reach the true Kyoko. It had worked in the past, hadn't it?
Actually, when the princess thought about it, she had always stayed on the sidelines, scared.
When they faced Kagato, she cried for Tsunami. When they were up against an entire Galaxy
Police fleet and Yagami crashed, she clung to Washuu like a child to its mother.
But I don't want to be scared anymore, she thought, balling up her left fist and extending her
right hand to Kyoko, who, miraculously, had stayed eye to eye, locked in a stare-down with Sasami.
"Kyoko, this isn't you," she said timidly. "Look at you! Look at your sword! It's stained
with Ryoko's blood! Ryoko! Your best friend!"
"Sasami, stop!" Aeka screamed at her sister, attempting to remove herself from the remains of
the broken table. To her, Kyoko was dangerous, one who would stop at nothing to kill anyone who
got in her way. There was no use reasoning.
Sasami didn't even glance at Aeka. She gave no thought to what had been said and continued.
"If we could just get a hold of Washuu, I'm sure she'd know what to do!"
Kyoko blinked, seeming confused. She slowly raised her sword and stared at it; at the stain
that dimmed the aura of the blade. Before she had found pleasure in it. Now that Sasami had
said something, she saw something else…something more. It was…it was…
Glory. Sick, twisted glory.
"That was beautiful, Sasami," she whispered, giving the girl a false sense of hope. "Except for
one thing."
The raven hared killer turned, the glowing in her eyes growing brighter, to the girl. Slowly,
she glided over and grabbed Sasami by the neck, lifting her several centimeters off the ground.
"You see, I was the one who cut off the link with Washuu."
"Let her go!"
The voice of Ryoko rang out cold and hard, merciless. Kyoko spun around to see the one she once
called her sister glaring at her.
Though the pain in her stomach raged like flames, Ryoko stood her ground.
"Let her go, I said! If it's me you want, I'm right here!"
Slowly, the pressure on her victim's throat was released. Kyoko didn't know what to do. It was
one thing to hurt Ryoko when she was sleeping, when she can't do anything about it. It was
another to hurt her when she could fight back.
But I must destroy the enemy! She mentally screamed.
"But is she truly the enemy?" A quiet voice replied.
Yes! She is! They all are! They must die!
Kyoko clung to her head and stumbled, eyes clenched tightly.
"Why? Why must they die?" The voice, it was so calm, almost understanding. It was driving the
pirate to a breakdown.
Because! I have been told!
"Kyoko! Come get me!" Ryoko could see her friend was losing it. "If it's the only way to stop
this!"
If it's the only way to stop this…Kyoko repeated.
"The only way to stop this is-"
"NO!! I MUST DESTROY THE ENEMY!!"
And with that, the true Space Pirate Kyoko fell, lost, into the depths of her own soul, finally
conquered by the monster that had been eating away at her mind since day one. Now she knew no
mercy, she knew no pity. All she knew were bloodshed and a sadistic longing to cause others pain.
Straightening, she gave Ryoko a piercing glare.
"I'll be back…" she sneered as she faded from sight. A silence like that which conquers one at
death settled over the room.
"I don't understand," Ryoko whispered, raking her hand through her hair in distress and leaning
against the wall. She let her head fall to her chest and closed her eyes. "Where could I have
gone wrong?"
"Ryoko, you shouldn't blame this on yourself," Kiyone said. She realized she had been glued to
her spot in fear and she still had her blaster tightly clasped in her hand. Her knuckles were
cramping and locking, and the skin covering them was pure white. She relaxed, prying the weapon
from her blood-deprived fingers. "You didn't know."
Mihoshi pulled the blanket off of her head. She had used it to block out what was happening
around her when Kyoko went crazy. She creeped out from her place of hiding in the corner and
immediately dashed to her partner's side, throwing her arms around Kiyone's stomach.
"Kiyone! That was really scary! What happened, Kiyone? Kiyoneeeeeee?!"
"Ack! Mihoshi, lemme go! Can't breathe!" Kiyone said, beating the blonde on top of the head.
Ryoko looked up to survey the scene, and she couldn't help but chuckle. Sasami, who was little
more than half her sister's size, was attempting to pull Aeka up from the broken table. The
first crown princess, with noodles in her hair and stains on her dress, looked rather aggravated
that it wasn't working. As for Kiyone's problems, well, Ryoko really pitied the police officer.
Mihoshi didn't appear to want to let go any time soon, despite the continuous thumps to her head.
"Hey!" Tenchi said from off to the side. During the fight he had stayed where he was as well,
completely unsure of what to do. "Hey, Ryoko, that was the first time I've heard you truly
laugh in days!"
Ryoko turned her eyes and smirked at him. "Yeah, well…"
"So," Sasami grunted as she once again pulled on her sister's arm with all her strength, "what
are we going to do now?" Giving up, she let Aeka's wrist go and plopped down on the floor where
she stood.
"Well, first off," the remaining pirate began, "kudos to you, Sasami-chan. What you did took
guts."
The child blushed and scratched the back of her head, mumbling about how it didn't work.
"That makes no difference. Sasami, you were very brave."
Sasami's face broke into a wide grin.
Ryoko smiled back before continuing.
"Second, I know what were dealing with, and it's not Kyoko. It's something much greater, much
more powerful. It won't stop until it's done what it needs to do."
"What do you mean, Ryoko?" Aeka asked, finally free from the remains of breakfast.
"I mean Kyoko can't stop until we're all dead, not just me."
Gasps arose from everyone in the room. Even the walls themselves seemed surprised.
"Ryoko, no!" Sasami cried.
"I'm sorry, Sasami, but not even I can stop a grudge held through death."
"24 October
Dear Diary,
You know, it's very odd to go back through my journals and relive my time in space, on Earth,
and even now. It's one of those things where you either remember you did it and you loved it,
remember you did it and you hated it, or you don't remember it at all. Take the time Ryoko and
I ran around the ship dancing madly to music. Well, no, let me rephrase that. I was dancing
madly, she was doing lip synchs. I recall it all so clearly. That was the day I decided that I
should get the beverages from then on…"
Ryoko chuckled as she read Kyoko's diary. She remembered that day as well. And the funny thing
was, she couldn't remember the next day. Well, actually she could, and it basically consisted
of a pounding headache and a raging stomachache, compliments of her hangover.
"What's so funny, Ryoko?" Tenchi asked, coming up to her from behind the couch. He leaned over
her shoulder, read the passage, and found himself laughing. "You're kidding me! She actually
trusted you to buy drinks?"
Unfortunately, the successor was so busy making fun of Ryoko that he failed to see the pillow
coming at him. Only when it smacked him in the face did he sense anything.
"Shut up, boy!" the summoner said with false anger, taking another swing at his head with the
blandly colored cushion.
Tenchi blocked it with his hand easily. "So, what do you know now?" he asked, gesturing to the
book that lay open in Ryoko's lap.
"Nothing really," Ryoko sighed. "At least, nothing that I hadn't already figured out."
"Shove over," Tenchi said. Ryoko adjusted so he had room, and he sat down next to her. "So,
what had you figured out?"
"Well, for one thing, both Washuu and Sasami knew about it, although Sasami never came into the
picture until we got to this world. For another…Kyoko's known that she was the cause of
everything since a few weeks after she came. She ran to Washuu in fear, and I guess it all
spilled out from there-"
"Wait, wait," the prince interrupted, holding up his hand to stop his girlfriend. "You mean to
tell me Sasami-chan learned everything before we did?"
Ryoko nodded.
"Do you think that's why she's in danger?"
"Oh, that's exactly why she's in danger. She knew, we didn't."
The two fell silent, staring down at the dirty pages of the little black book. Ryoko flicked to
the next page, deep in thought.
There was something that she hadn't mentioned. Something else that she knew, something the
others didn't. If she said it, the reaction definitely wouldn't be good. She kept telling
herself she hadn't told anyone about it yet for their sake, but at the same time she knew that
wasn't why. She feared the truth, how it all fit together so perfectly. It scared her deeply.
Without thinking, Ryoko began to hum quietly. It was a song she knew all too well, and yet one
she had never wanted to hear again.
"Hey, I know this song," Tenchi said. "Kyoko hummed it all the time!"
"Yeah…" the demon said softly. You have no idea, Tenchi, she thought, inwardly shaking her head.
Tenchi looked over to Ryoko. He had never seen her so sad and scared.
"We'll make it through this, Ryoko-chan. I promise."
Ryoko stood up and tossed the diary down where she had been sitting. "What do you mean, 'we'?
It's never me that does anything, it's always you. I just get the shit beat out of me."
"It doesn't always have to be that way, you know."
Ryoko began to reply, but stopped when Aeka entered the room. The two made eye contact, though
nothing was said until the princess was seated.
"Tenchi's right, Ryoko. Have faith." Aeka's voice deceived her. She didn't believe it either,
and it showed. She had no hope.
"Have you guys seen Sasami?" Kiyone asked, poking her head in the door from the kitchen.
Tenchi, Ryoko, and Aeka all shook their heads no, and Ryoko said to ask Mihoshi. Kiyone mumbled
something like, "I'm not going to bother if she's with Mihoshi," and quickly disappeared back
around the corner.
"So," Aeka asked when the officer was out of sight, "what do we know now?"
Ryoko took a deep breath and faced her rival. "Kyoko, Washuu, and Sasami have known everything
longer than any of us, and that's why Sasami's on the line."
"Hmmm, what a comfort."
The pirate smirked.
Kiyone stalked out of the kitchen, an overstuffed and half-eaten turkey sandwich in her fist.
She walked through the living room, not bothering to say anything before reaching the hallway.
"Mihoshi! Sasami!" she called down the short corridor as she continued to the last door. She
knocked twice before entering.
The three in the main room turned back to each other, ready to finish discussing the topic at
hand when they heard Kiyone's high-pitched screech. Tenchi, Ryoko, and Aeka shot out of the
room in the blink of an eye, and they were standing in the doorway merely seconds after their
friend had screamed.
Kiyone was leaning over an unconscious Mihoshi, who was sprawled face down on her futon. She
had a large, bloody gash in the back of her head that had ripped most of her hair out of the
ponytail when it had been given. When Kiyone shook her repeatedly, she did not awaken. Her
head just rolled from side to side, her face remaining glued to the mattress.
The most sickening part, however, was not the ditz's limp form, sticky crimson locks, or
Ryo-ohki, who lay right beside Mihoshi, just as helpless. It was what they couldn't see.
"Oh my God!" Aeka screamed, running over to the two. She stood above the bed, knuckles pressed
to her mouth in fear. "What happened? Where's Sasami?"
"I don't know!" Kiyone frantically replied, giving her partner another good shake. "I found her
just like this!"
Tenchi walked over to the bed as well, but Ryoko remained frozen in her spot.
"Ryo-ohki…" she meekly called to her companion.
She got a choked "mew" in response, and the cabbit staggered to its feet. She took a few uneasy
steps before falling back to the ground. Seeing and understanding her pain, Ryoko glided over
and scooped the creature into her arms.
"What happened?" she whispered. Ryo-ohki gave her a bleary look before replying with one single
"Miya". Ryoko stared.
"What happened, Ryoko-chan?" Tenchi asked, prepared for the worst.
The oni looked up at him, large tears brimming in her golden eyes. "Kyoko came back."
"What?" Aeka said, shocked.
"Kyoko came back, and now Sasami is gone!"
The young heiress took Ryoko by the collar and brought her close, till they were almost nose to
nose. Aeka's hot breath smelled of fear, and her voice quivered as she spoke.
"Tell me," she whimpered, "please tell me you're not serious. Tell me you misunderstood!"
"I can't…" Ryoko said, pushing Aeka off of her with all her might. "I can't tell you that…
There's nothing I can do!"
"But there must be, Ryoko! You know what we're up against!"
"There isn't! I'm powerless!"
Aeka tried to keep her ground, but was finding it harder and harder as each second passed.
Ryoko knew more than what she was telling, that was obvious. That fact alone hurt Aeka deeper
than she could really bear. Now her sister had been kidnapped by the enemy and was most likely
soon to die.
Ryoko didn't know how much that one piece of information that she held secret could help, even
if only Aeka's heart.
"What are you hiding from us, Ryoko-san?" she cried, into her hands.
Ryoko opened her mouth to answer, but found no words. She couldn't tell, Aeka wasn't strong
enough. She herself could hardly stand the truth. So instead, she turned her attention to
Ryo-ohki, who lay curled up in her arms.
"Ryo-ohki, are you all right?"
The tiny creature opened one small, amber eye; her only physical response.
But silently, deep inside Ryoko's mind, a quiet voice asked her why she didn't tell.
"I'm sorry, Ryo-ohki…but I can't."
"Ryoko, stop avoiding the subject!" Tenchi intervened. "Please, tell us!"
Ryoko turned her back to the world, shaking in distress.
"No…" she whispered. "This is one thing I must face up to on my own…I will get Sasami back…but
I must do it by myself…"
"Ryoko…" Tenchi sighed sadly, placing his hand on her shoulder. He didn't know what to do. He
struggled to be calm, but found it impossible. I don't want to be angry with you! He mentally
shouted. But you're making it so difficult! "…Why must you be so stubborn?!"
"Why can't you understand?" she spat back, keeping her ground. "It's not like I wanted this!
It's not like…"
A groan rose from the bed as the blonde officer stirred. Slowly, she sat up, swaying. The futon
seemed to be moving like a ship in turbulent waters. Her head throbbed, and colors she didn't
even know existed danced in front of her eyes. She groped around the mattress for the little
cook she was once with, but instead found her partner's hand. She grabbed it and squeezed it
tightly, attempting to speak.
"Ki-Kiyon-ne…" Mihoshi stuttered, her voice a high pitched squeak, "I-it was-s terrible! He
j-just ca-came out of no-nowhere and-d attacked us! She was with him, b-but she was-n't hers-
self! I was s-so scared!"
Kiyone brought her friend in, embracing her, protecting her. Mihoshi sobbed into her friend's
shoulder, happy to be alive.
Tenchi, on the other hand, surveyed the scene, a small flicker of a smile playing on his lips.
"He." He had heard the word "He" in Mihoshi's story. Meaning…
"Mihoshi-chan?" he asked. He waited for her tears to calm before asking his question. "Do you
know who attacked you?"
"Mihoshi, no!" Ryoko ordered, trying to stop her from saying it. But it was no use.
The blonde nodded. "It-t was-s Ky-yoko and K-K-Ka-gato…"
~Notes from Minagi~
So, whatcha think? Don't worry, everything will be explained in the next chapter. Don't forget
to review, so I know you haven't forgotten about me!
~Minagi
ps. Word of advice for the future. As I have found out in the course of the past few months,
it is not a bad thing to talk to inanimate objects, nor is it a bad sign when they start talking
back. Now, when they start cussing you out, that's when you can start worrying. Kay? Just
thought I'd clear that up.