Infinite Wills
Chapter 5: Sacrifices
Part B
Author: Garasu
"Ugh! This is ridiculous!" Washu threw down the small device she was holding angrily and stormed off into the darkness of her hyperspace lab. She had been working on the problem of solving Ryoko's energy needs for almost one week straight and still the answer did not come to the genius. In the beginning, the small pink haired scientist had thought it would be relatively simple, especially since she had recently gained a lot of insight into the workings of the universe since the incident happened.
That thought train led Washu to release her breath in a frustrated sigh. The incident. It happened about the same time Ryoko collapsed for whatever reasons that brought the new knowledge and power to her own body. Silently, Washu summoned up the small gems that had once been the source of her daughter's power and watched the trio of glowing objects hover in the palm of her hand. She had tried to reject them, to fuse them once again to Ryoko's body but they had stubbornly rejected the action as if they had a mind of their own. Whatever the woman subsequently tried to do directly to the orbs inexplicably failed. Finally, Washu resigned herself to the fact that the gems were hers now, and a part of whatever changes had gone through her one week ago.
Finding herself tired once again from her failures, Washu summoned a chair and sat on it dejectedly, staring into the watery world of one her many aquariums. As the small, drab inhabitants of the tank serenely floated in front of her, Washu closed her eyes and frowned. Sleep had not come easily to her this past week for obvious reasons. Still, with as tired as she felt, the eccentric scientist found herself wondering what Tenchi was up to. As of the last transmission she had received, the situation on Jurai was beginning to resolve itself, with most of the nobles awake and back to normal duties. She spared a brief chuckle towards the emperor, who had probably had a heart attack when he found out that Tenchi had helped run the show while he was out.
Strangely enough, thoughts of the young man, who had managed to endear himself into her own heart, as well as the heart's of all the other girls around him gave Washu the extra push she needed to finally get some sleep. Slowly, in front of her specimen aquariums the scientist closed her eyes and drifted into the realm of quiet solitude...and dreamed.
---
Washu.
Green eyes opened to a soft blue light as Washu slowly awoke. The voice that had called her name...it sounded familiar to the pink haired woman and she frowned in concentration trying to remember where she had once heard that voice.
Washu.
Washu turned around at breakneck speed, trying to determine where the voice came from. It seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere all at once. "Who are you, where are you?" she asked of the mists surrounding her, a small amount of frustration seeping into her tone. Despite the unknown quantity speaking to her, however, Washu felt no danger, simply a lingering curiosity toward the invader of her dream.
Behind you, Washu.
The young woman turned quickly, once again looking to the direction she had been looking initially. To her surprise found a large tree that had not been there previously, slowly resolving itself with greater clarity.
The tree was a grand one, one that she thought would be more realistic being described in a fanciful novel, rather than real life. It was larger than any other tree she had seen before, and looked to be composed of a rough, light brown bark. The second thing she noticed was that the monumental plant seemed to be in the pinnacle of life -with it's large, healthy branches and soft green leaves liberally hiding the gigantic boughs that must form on a tree such as this one. Closer inspection, once Washu walked closer to the object, yielded the form of a young looking woman, sitting in the shadow of the great trunk.
At first glance, the woman appeared to be sleeping, but as Washu cautiously approached the stranger opened her eyes and returned Washu's gaze with a soft smile.
"Tsunami," Washu recognized a second later, calling her name softly in greeting. There was no doubt in her mind that this was indeed the Goddess and patron saint of Jurai. To put it simply, Tsunami was stunning, with both the combined traits of an adult Sasami and elements of Divinity, which naturally enhanced her physical beauty. Her soft, water blue hair was wrapped elegantly into a large pony-tail which, while the Goddess rested against her tree, was wrapped carefully around the front of her body, falling to the ground and pooling almost as naturally as water flowed. The light pink eyes, which returned Washu's stare, were kind and sweet, effortlessly showing both the mischief and intractable cuteness that she had inherited from her host body. Lastly, was Tsunami's always present robes, intricately crafted to be finer than any garment any tailor in the universe could sew in a soft white color broken only by leaves in mint green and a few pink baubles. The robe, of course, both accentuated the goddess's creamy white skin yet revealed very little of it, save for the innate knowledge that underneath them was a body that would be the envy of beauties everywhere.
"Washu," the Goddess returned, smoothly, her smile widening. "It is nice seeing you again, Sister, though I prayed the day would never come."
"Sister?" Washu echoed. Sitting lightly in front of her companion at the other woman's invitation. It had only just been vocalized before a thought pattern hit the smaller woman and everything was known in mere moments.
"Yes, it's all true, I'm afraid," Tsunami answered, when she saw the gleam in Washu's eyes. "Though I can only begin to fathom why our other sister saw fit to release your blocks at this time, or even at all."
Washu only nodded; completely absorbed with the information that was now coursing through her mind. Belatedly, though, she voiced her one repeating thought on the matter. "I would have gladly remained ignorant for my daughter's sake."
Tsunami nodded sadly, and brought up an image of Ryoko, still floating silently in the healing tube within Washu's lab. "Sadly, there is nothing conventionally that can be done for your daughter. Her unique method of obtaining energy and the amount she requires makes just about anything unfeasible." The Goddess frowned in thought when Washu lowered her head.
"However, there is an unconventional method which has now been opened to you." The Goddess added thoughtfully.
"And that is?" Washu asked of the following silence, urging the blue haired woman in front of her to continue.
"Your champion," Tsunami answered quietly, looking directly into Washu's eyes.
"My Champion?"
"Yes. We, as major goddesses, are allowed to channel our powers and grant them to one special person of our choosing to further our cause in the physical plane. Our champions powers are the manifest of our divine powers, and drawn directly from us. However, due to the physical limitations of the mortal body, they are only capable of channeling half of our power."
Washu sat quietly for a moment, digesting this information before speaking once again. "So that's how Tenchi is able to do what he does," she said softly, more to herself than to her dream companion.
"Yes, Tenchi is my Champion," Tsunami answered, unaware that Washu's earlier comments were more thinking out loud, rather than a question. "He's such a sweet young man, it isn't any wonder to me why Sasami is so infatuated with him."
Washu blinked at the utterly innocent smile plastered on Tsunami's face. "Umm, if Sasami is infatuated with him, and you are in essence the same as Sasami, doesn't that make you infatuated as well?" She asked brazenly, finding a bit of her old humor once an answer to her daughter's situation had been apparently found.
It was almost worth it to see Tsunami's smile falter for a split second at the jibe.
However, like any good divine being. Tsunami had become quite adept at ignoring things, and she passed the joke off without so much as a blush before she continued smoothly. "Though for your daughter, I think things might be slightly different as she needs to channel the energy at all times to keep her biological initiatives running but not enough to make the Light Hawk Wings appear until she needs them."
The Jurai Goddess frowned for a moment in thought, working things out in her mind.
"Oh, that shouldn't be any problem," Washu declared suddenly, breaking the other goddess's concentration. "After all, I am a genius as well as Goddess now. It should be a simple manner to design a power regulator in Ryoko that she won't have to use the power all the time. After all, I wouldn't want that girl running around with Light Hawk Wings all the time. She's destructive enough on any normal day."
Tsunami giggled at her sister's humor, delighted that the woman was finally able to overcome her apathy towards the situation and regain some of her old personality again. She always was the least serious of the three. All she would have to do was teach Washu the rite of ceremony. Strangely, as the youngest goddess, Washu had never before chosen a champion, therefore knew little of the ceremony that would grant their chosen with their powers. She vocalized this fact as soon as the pink haired goddess took a break in her mental calculations for a power inhibitor.
"Then what are waiting for? Let's begin now!" Tsunami smiled at her sister's enthusiasm and leaned close to tell of the secrets just as a wind blew through the dream and ruffled the leaves of her Tree.
---
Washu woke with a start, scattering the collection of aquatic life that had gathered near her to stare at the curiosity outside of their tanks.
"Ugh, whatever I had for dinner I should have more of it soon," she intoned, rubbing her head to clear the sleep from her eyes. The dream she had had and the knowledge that she had gained from her encounter were enough to get her mind working in quick order and soon she was walking in the direction that Ryoko was, ready to begin the ceremony immediately.
As she approached the healing tube, she regarded her daughter for a moment, frowning. In the nude, Ryoko was obviously good looking enough to turn any man's head. Despite her almost two thousand years of age, her skin was still that of only a late teen, emphasized by the light tan color and the smooth appearance. The snow blue hair that had characterized the so called demoness floated gently in the liquid that filled the tube, also allowing her daughter to float just above the bottom of the tank. As Ryoko did not need oxygen to survive, a mask supplying the gas was unnecessary, allowing her youthful face to show in all its heart breaking beauty. Should the closed eyes open, her golden pupils would captivate the souls of anyone who dared stare directly at them.
Briefly, the thoughts of her daughter's 'physiological tactics' sent a small pang of regret through her, as the one person whom Ryoko would have wanted to see her in such a romantic light was not here at the moment. For that small moment, Washu almost toyed with the idea of waiting until Tenchi could return, and then wake her up. Only for a second, though, did the goddess consider that option. She knew that even with the situation on Jurai improving, the young man who held her daughter's heart in his hands would probably not be returning for a while. Perhaps even long enough to be significant in other matters of the boy's heart. It would be cruel for Ryoko to wake up to that image, and Washu knew it.
With the decision made, she pressed the small button to her left that released the locking mechanism that kept the demoness asleep and watched as the healing liquid drained away and a small stabilizer kept Ryoko vertical. Once the glass lifted, allowing Washu access to her daughter, she gently raised herself up to head level and lightly caressed a well-tanned cheek. Then, silently, the elder woman brought Ryoko's head closer until their foreheads touched, mumbling the words taught to her by Tsunami and now recognized as the Rite of Ceremony. As the last words faded from the goddess's lips, a gentle light began where the skin of the two women's foreheads met and expanded. Though she could not see it with her physical eyes, Washu could sense the marks of power appearing on Ryoko's head in the image of three dots, forming a triangle. They were exactly where Tenchi's were when he transformed, and she could feel the power begin to slowly revive the energy starved systems in her daughter.
Once all that was needed was done, Washu pulled back and watcher Ryoko wake with a small groan. Once the younger woman's golden eyes opened, they briefly looked around in confusion before her mind told her where she was. A spare glance at her daughter's forehead told the goddess that the marks were still there, ever marking the pale haired woman as a goddess's champion, but holding back the full power of the marks. She had to admit, the power inhibitor that she had installed in the spell with a bit of her new found knowledge had been a stroke of genius. The marks would always be there, but the full brunt of the Light Hawk Wings would only manifest when called upon in the heat of battle. They simultaneously fed her Ryoko power and limited it to only what was needed for the task at hand.
"I'm such a genius," Washu mumbled happily, blocking out the small groan coming from the woman lying below her.
"Spare me the ego, mother ," Ryoko spat the title sarcastically as she sat up, rubbing her head trying to get the infernal headache that she was experiencing to lessen. "What happened? Why was I asleep for so long, where's my power gems?" The demoness asked her questions in rapid-fire succession, sparing only a minute to summon her normal household clothes with her mind, reveling in the feel of the cloth for a moment before she looked around. "More importantly, where is Tenchi?"
Washu sighed. She couldn't help the feeling of dread that came over her as she prepared to answer all the questions, including the last one.
This is not going to be pretty . The goddess thought before opening her mouth and filling her daughter in on the whos, whys and wheres that she had missed during her time spent asleep.
~* * *~
"I can't sleep," Tenchi finally admitted to himself, as his eyes once again opened to gaze at the intricately carved ceiling of the guest suite that had been given to him. He had been tossing and turning for hours, never quite able to enter the blissful quiet of the mind that came with a deep satisfying sleep. All he could think about was the last few hours, ever since Ayeka had confessed to him. Dinner had been immediately after she had run from him, and that affair was a nightmare of uncomfortable looks from Ayeka to slightly unsettling anger from her mother, Misaki. Everyone else, Tenchi noticed, seemed to be either not affected or as in the case of the Emperor, not informed. The later of which the young man could only be thankful.
Finally, after a few minutes spent trying to figure out what to do, Tenchi decided to go for a walk to help clear his head. He had done this numerous times at home on Earth, and despite the fact that he knew very little about the palace layout, the boy felt that he could always stick to the simple paths that had already been shown to him. It took only a few moments for the Earthling to throw on some loose clothing over his shorts before Tenchi was out the door and trying to find peace with his inner turmoil.
Several hours later, it still had not been made clear to Tenchi just what exactly he should do about the situation. He knew that he cared deeply about Ayeka, Ryoko, Sasami, and all the others. More than he probably should, in fact. It was just that he didn't wish to hurt anyone, and no matter which way he looked at it, someone was going to be disappointed, and hurting deeply by the end of the situation. It had become so much of a burden lately, especially with everything that had been going on, that Tenchi had almost decided that he could never choose between the girls that had come to live with him. At least that way, he had reasoned, nobody would have to be hurt. They could all go on living the way they had been living for the past year and a half and everything would be great.
Even as his mind considered that option and the great appeal it had, Tenchi knew it would never work. Despite his resolution of spending no more time with one person over the other he could feel his feelings begin to grow. It didn't help that the last week had been spent with Ayeka, and the fact that they had spent a great deal of that time simply talking. Tenchi admitted that he was beginning to know the Princess very well in light of the recent events and respect her greatly. Princess Ayeka was certainly someone whom he had never considered had so much depth to them. Whenever he had pictured the young woman he had always seen a confident, able person always able to find a rational way out of any situation.
Tenchi chuckled to himself at the last thought, however. It seemed that no matter how he pictured her, she would always show exactly the opposite in front of Ryoko. There just seemed to be something that the demoness had that could shorten the fuse of the normally reserved princess in record time. Though he suspected most of that was just that the two were so equal in strength that after the first few months it became more of a training exercise or aggression outlet than honest anger. He also knew from experience that the two could collaborate with frightening results.
Thoughts, however, were interrupted as Tenchi literally ran into a huge pair of doors. The doors, he immediately recognized simply by their size and grandeur were the entrance to the royal tree nursery. This was one of the first things that Sasami had shown him when he had free time to explore with the second princess. The doors, however, also brought back the memory of the strange figure that he had met the first night he came, the one that shared his powers. It was never determined just what exactly that man was, or where he had come from, but it was often thought that he was after a seedling by most of the security personnel. It was the only thing one could take from the nursery with just a single ship and one man, as the seedlings still had not formed enough of a consciousness to resist being removed, either. Nobody, however, had to theorize just how dangerous it would be with a royal tree under malicious control could do to the galaxy at large, even a tree of the second or third generation.
Tenchi's curiosity reached its peak once a closer inspection revealed that the door was slightly ajar, perhaps from an earlier entrance. Wondering just whom else could be up at this time of night, the young man reached for the handle and prepared to lug with his entire might. To his surprise, the doors swung open with a simple light pull and Tenchi had to regain his balance quickly. Once the door was open, the young man peered into the room and upon immediately seeing no one, approached the small transportation pools hesitantly. The small blue pads, set into the floor and framed by a small white raised area greatly resembled small pools of water at first glance and Tenchi had only used them once or twice before. By nature, he was overly cautious of anything that scrambled his molecules.
Slowly, the young man approached the small pad and stood on it, strangely trusting the object to know where to send him. That was, at least how Sasami explained it. The little girl had told him that it just 'knows' where you want or need to go and takes you there then shrugged her shoulders, indicating that she didn't know how exactly that happened. Sure enough, as soon as Tenchi began re-materializing he could see a figure sitting in the shade of a tree, leaning her back against the medium sized trunk.
As soon as Tenchi fully appeared the figure looked up and smiled at him. It only took a few moments for the young man to recognize his great grandmother as he began walking up to the woman. Unlike him, however, it looked as if the First Queen of Jurai was not having trouble sleeping, as she was still dressed in the elegant robe, minus the mantle, from this evening's dinner. As her deep green eyes gazed at him, Tenchi approached slowly, encouraged that he was welcome by the broad smile the woman wore until he was standing in front of her. Nervous that he was standing over the most powerful woman on the planet, Tenchi kneeled down and gave his great grandmother a respectful bow.
"Majesty," he greeted, at the lowest point of his bow.
"Tenchi," Funaho returned, in between giggles at his formality. "I think you can be a little less formal, there is no one else around and we are family after all."
Tenchi looked up from his bow and smiled at the openly friendly face of Funaho. Despite the fact that she was his great grandmother by way of his mother's side, the young man had always been amazed with the first queen's rustic beauty and once again he was not disappointed. The woman carried herself with the grace and poise of a true Japanese lady, showing her roots in not only her appearance. After a few moments, Tenchi blushed when he realized he had been staring and directed his eyes elsewhere, trying desperately to find a piece of conversation. Fortunately, he didn't have to, as Funaho spoke first.
"Couldn't sleep?" She asked in the small silence that had developed after their initial greeting. Funaho smiled at her companion's slight nod and down cast eyes. "This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with Ayeka, would it?"
At Tenchi's second nod, Funaho's smile grew even broader. Her great grandson was so very predictable sometimes. She continued a moment later, the smile toned a bit, but still present. "And what about the situation has you so reluctant to sleep?"
Tenchi thought for a moment, genuinely trying to review all his thoughts and feelings about the matter to try and give an honest answer. Though whenever he came down to the truth, it was simply a matter of confusion about how he should feel. When he told this to the elder woman, Funaho merely nodded sagely.
"It is a difficult choice that you have to make, Tenchi, and one that I do not envy," she said solemnly. "Though, of course, there is one that I wish for you to choose, but it is not my place to force anything upon both of you. It would be cruel."
Tenchi sighed, even as he agreed. "I wish there was a simple way out of this, great grandmother. But every time I think I may have found it, it appears to be only a temporary answer to my problem. I wish even more that I did not have to deal with this now. There are so many things going on right now that I could easily say are more important, but this matter, more than any else refuses to leave my mind."
Funaho bowed her head thoughtfully, addressing some of Tenchi's unspoken problems with her own intellect and experience. Naturally, he would be worried about the appearance of the stranger last week. The young man's appearance had upset a lot of people in and out of the royal family. Knowing, as well, that Tenchi had a great responsibility resting upon his shoulders as the only one that could counter the power that the stranger held. On a sudden thought, Funaho asked another question of the young man.
"How are the others treating you, since you came here?"
Tenchi sighed again, that was another problem he would probably have to address soon. "They are alright, I suppose," he answered tentatively, and only continued when the woman motioned for him to do so. "I guess they're not that bad because Ayeka does so much more than myself, but since everything has been getting back to normal other things have gotten tense once or twice. I guess they either don't like my connection to grandfather, or my self very much very much. I suppose it's good, though, that they have stopped their power struggles for now."
"Ah, yes. My son left a large hole in the political structure of Jurai when he left, though it was much easier to deal with that than the emotional hole he left, especially in Ayeka," Funaho offered thoughtfully.
"Ayeka?" Tenchi caught the word immediately, knowing part of the story behind his grandfather's disappearance from Jurai and Ayeka's attachment to him. "What was she like after he left?"
Funaho frowned, remembering the event all too well. "She was very depressed. Of course, there was always hope that he would come back, and that helped in some small way to allow her to function. But as the time wore on, there seemed less and less of a chance that he would be returning. She stopped eating after that, refused to get out of bed for all but the most basic needs and turned away everybody at the door of her bedroom. It wasn't a very good point in her life, and we are only too happy that Sasami was able to pull her out before she did serious damage to herself."
Tenchi cast his eyes downward as Funaho spoke, wondering just how Ayeka would look in such a state of depression. He had never seen her more than sad, or bit lost, and even then, they were fleeting moments. He came to the quick decision that he would never like to see her any worse. But of course, there still was the problem of just how deep exactly those feelings ran. Did they run deep enough to see anyone else the same way, as long as she was happy?
"How is she now?" Tenchi asked quietly, once his line of thinking ran into a hard dead end. He couldn't help but remember her tears when she ran from him earlier that evening, nor ignore the blank, lost look she would occasionally send his way during dinner.
Funaho thought carefully about her answer before speaking. Ayeka was upset, but because she convinced herself she never really heard the whole sentence she still carried hope. Though telling this to Tenchi directly would be a difficult task, the woman realized, as he had never really taken upsetting anyone very well.
"She is trying to understand," Funaho finally spoke, letting a small hint of worry escape into he tone. "She would like to understand her direct feelings for you, and just how deep they run. I can tell she still carries hope that you may love her as well. I do not understand what happened between you two the other night, but I hope it was a misunderstanding. Over the past couple weeks you have grown so close."
Tenchi merely blushed in response, thinking that indeed he had gotten much closer to the princess. Which, now that he could think about it, worried him.
"What...what do you think I should do?" He asked, tentatively, after another few moments of contemplative silence.
Funaho frowned slightly at his question. It wasn't exactly like she hadn't been expecting the question to be asked sooner or later, yet, for all the time she took thinking about the answer, only one she knew was the right one.
"That, is something you will have to do on your own, Tenchi." Funaho finally said, lifting one of her hands to pat him gently on the shoulder with an almost motherly affection. "I cannot advise you on a your actions for that is something one must always do by themselves, however, I can say this: listen to your heart Tenchi. It will always know what to do, even in the worst of circumstances."
The young man suddenly shifted, and leaned back against the trunk of the tree that he was currently sitting under. Funaho, noticing his far away look, took it as a discreet sign for privacy. She knew he had a lot of thinking to do. As quietly as she could, she rose from the ground and began to walk off towards the transport pad that had first brought Tenchi to her.
"Think on this matter, Tenchi. I know it will not be an easy choice." Suddenly Funaho turned and smiled at him warmly. "But if it's any consolation, I know you will make the right choice." With her final farewell, the first queen stepped on the pad and disappeared into the soft blue light, leaving Tenchi all alone with his thoughts.
---
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the palace, yet another person sighed in vexation, completely at a loss as to what to do.
He was worried about Ryoko; she tried to convince herself, hearing over and over again the phrase she had last heard Tenchi speak. That was all, wasn't it? It was not like he confessed his love for her...but still, my heart? Why does my heart ache as if something bad has already happened?
Ayeka sighed again, and walked quietly over to the small vanity in her expansive room. I acted irrationally, foolishly even. I didn't even give him the chance to explain what he meant by that. The princess slammed her palm on the table, a set expression on her face, staring back at her from the mirror. Slowly, her hand crept out, and grabbed a hairbrush that was sitting within easy reach, and then Ayeka began the long process of brushing her lengthy violet locks calming her frazzled nerves as she pulled the bristles through her hair.
The color that Yosho liked, she thought idly, as she ran the wooden comb through the long, straight tresses. Her hair was cool to the touch, and was finer than any silk that could be created, yet when Ayeka looked, really looked at her hair, she saw only a fraud. It was a fix, an attempt by her to get her older half brother to notice her. One, that she ironically noted, did nothing to change his feelings about her. She had changed so much as a child, in order to make herself into the ideal woman, her personality, her hair, they all came back to haunt Ayeka as she sat in front of the mirror, distracting her mind so much that soon she couldn't even perform the simple task of brushing.
"I hate myself," the princess finally muttered, tossing the brush in her hand idly to the floor. She wished, with all her might, that she could take back the words that she said earlier. Now, her feelings were out in the open, raw and vulnerable. What Tenchi would make of them, she had no idea, but as she sat there, staring at her reflection, she found that for all her changes for one man...she wished to undo them. She had always thought that she was happy with her appearance, but the more she looked at herself the more she couldn't help but think it was a part of her dislike. This time, though she would change not because it was what someone liked, or found ideal...but instead, Ayeka could honestly admit that this time she would change for herself.
Suddenly resolute, Ayeka got up and walked over to her door, throwing it open just in time to see her mother, Misaki, come running toward her, arms outspread.
"Oh, my little Ayeka! You finally came out! I was so worried...so, so worried." Ayeka allowed herself a tolerant smile before gently disengaging from the hug that threatened to crush the life from her. She could always count on her mother to be over emotional.
"Mother, there's something I would like you to help me do, if you please."
Another tight hug and a loudly sobbed 'anything,' was all the answer Ayeka needed.
~* * *~
"What am I doing here?" Sighed Kiyone, as she played with a small silver fork. The former galaxy policewoman spared a look around the room she was currently in and sighed once again. It wasn't as if the restaurant wasn't a nice place, in fact it was just the opposite. Every where she looked she could see nice tables, some round, others square covered in nice table clothes of red. They were additionally topped by another white tablecloth angled just right to complement the under one. Diners were enjoying what appeared to be a mixed menu of meats and vegetables. Everything she saw seemed to attest to the fact that this restaurant catered to the middle to upper echelon of folks, especially considering the flatware.
Kiyone eyed her fork one more time, this time scrutinizing the finely filigreed etchings and the expertly cut edges, perfectly polished to a mirror like shine. Indeed, this place was very nice which made sense why her uncle had recommended it. Her trepidation, she realized, as an object caught her eye and she directed her vision upon it, definitely did not have anything to do with the decorum, nor her lack of experience with these kinds of places. No, her ill feelings were directed solely towards the man entering the room from the far right corner of the small restaurant and making his way towards her with a purposeful gait. Again, Kiyone remembered the situation that brought her to this moment and heard her uncle's voice clearly within the confines of her imagination.
---
"Kiyone!"
Kiyone instantly recognized the sound of the voice coming from behind her, and adjusted her pace to allow the person hailing her to catch up.
"Ah, Kiyone, I'm glad I caught you before you left," Tarmin Makibi told his niece as he fought to catch his breath from the short jog he took to catch up to the athletic woman. Once his breath was caught, and his tie adjusted again, Tarmin continued. "I was wondering how have you been settling in? I've been hearing some good things from your team and was just wondering if they were trying to suck up to this old man?"
Kiyone blinked at the sudden joke, then covered her mouth in a polite giggle, "Uncle Tarmin, you're funny," she told the man, noticing his ear to ear grin. "For your information, I think I've been settling in rather well. Though there have been a few problems, but nothing I can't handle. Hopefully we should be ready to test the new prototype by next week, if everything goes well, that is."
Tarmin nodded his head at each point his niece brought up, knowing that the 'problems' that Kiyone mentioned would probably never get explained much further than that. If the problem were serious enough, she would tell him details.
"Indeed," he added a few moments later, thinking ahead to the upcoming prototype tests. "I think you should be really excited about the tests, this sort of thing is right up your alley."
The young woman nodded, allowing a wide smile to show on her face. "In fact, I am very much looking forward to them. The new specs you designed should allow us to increase fuel ignition efficiency past ninety percent! That's so far ahead of the competition, I would be willing to believe that you have some little troll in your closet that gives you the secrets of the universe."
Tarmin laughed alone with his niece and wiped the laughter tears from his eyes. "Nonsense, and you know it my dear. You know as well as I do that it's your team that makes everything possible for me. I just come up with the dreams, you design them." The elder man hesitated for a moment after speaking, a reticent expression coming over his face and disappearing so fast that Kiyone missed it altogether.
"Speaking of fusion efficiencies, how is the graduate student, Jamus, doing? This is supposed to be the topic of his final thesis, and I hope he was able to make some excellent contributions."
Kiyone shifted uncomfortably at her uncle's rapid switch of topics, wondering at it in the same breath. Jamus was one of those minor problems she had had since first come to the engineering team. He was a polite enough man; in fact, Kiyone was willing to classify him as too polite with a very small dose of shyness. The problem came from his occasional looks directed towards her. They always made her feel so uncomfortable and whenever she asked him if there was something she could do for him he simply gave her one of his crooked smiles and shake his head. At first, the young woman had him pegged for some sort of mild pervert, too shy to speak to the beautiful women but never minding the occasional peek. But soon enough, she noticed that the attention was not directed towards her other female teammate at all. It was almost as if the very striking Megumi didn't even exist in his world, which definitely didn't add up if he were a pervert.
"He's...um...well, more than I'm used to." Kiyone added quickly, trying to summarize the vast amount of emotions that flowed through her whenever she thought about the young graduate student. It was the truth as far as she was concerned, as well. During her years as a Galaxy Police officer, Kiyone had encountered a lot of guys, both in and out of work and the most distinguishing remark she could make of all of them was that they were all very sure of themselves and were not shy about vocalizing it. She almost didn't know what to do with the quiet Jamus, who more than not gave a simple smile in place of an answer
Tarmin sighed and gazed towards the far wall with an unreadable expression on his face. "I figured as much. When Makoto first brought him to us I was not entirely sure that he would be able to fit in with the group mentality. Dr. Chen has always said that the boy is a bit more individual oriented than most people. However, he has made several important contributions to the research phase. Despite my initial trepidations, he has managed to fit in well."
Sensing there was something more to say, Kiyone indicated that Tarmin should continue.
"Well, here's the thing. I had the opportunity to get to know him a better a short while ago, and from what I gathered, I think you would like him..."
"Now hold it right there, Uncle, this sounds suspiciously like a set up to me." Kiyone set her fists on her hips and glared at her uncle for a moment. Tarmin simply smiled at her set expression and made a disarming hand gesture.
"Now, Kiyone, you should give this a chance. I'm not trying to set you up with a boyfriend, but I know that you haven't been going out much since you arrived and I thought that since you two were about the same age it might be nice to be friends. Everything I learned about Jamus, makes me believe he is a lot like you, as well. On top of that, in his time here I have not once seen him go out."
"I don't know, Uncle. It still sounds like a bad idea to me. I don't think I feel comfortable around him." The young woman put in, keeping one eye carefully on the older gentleman beside her, gauging his reaction. Her uncle almost never did things like this, so naturally, she was curious as to why he was doing this now and with that particular man. At the same time, though, he rarely interfered with her life unless he was really worried. "Are you that worried about me, Tarmin?"
Tarmin sighed and gave his niece an affectionate look. "I just know how lonely you must get sometimes, sweetheart. I want you to be happy, and making friends with a few people your own age will help you. If you don't want to do this, I won't push it, but I think you might enjoy yourself."
Kiyone closed her eyes for a moment and fought with her conscious. On one hand, she almost feared trying to make some sort of social life for herself, as if some small part of her still thought that she could go back to the GP and then she wouldn't have time for socializing anymore. Then there was the other part of her mind that admitted that her uncle was right, she was lonely sometimes, especially after her friendship with the Princess had begun. It felt nice to have someone to talk to. Could it truly be as her uncle said? Could it be a nice friendship, or would he want more out of it? Would it hurt to try?
Tarmin smile at his niece's expression and patted her shoulders affectionately. "Don't worry, Kiyone. I think you will enjoy this."
Kiyone could one respond with a quietly muttered 'why me?'
---
Back in the present, Kiyone blinked as the man came closer to her, and found herself inspecting him, as if she were visually searching for weapons with her eyes. He didn't appear to be dressed too badly, like herself choosing to go with something more comfortable and casual rather than formal. The dark blue shirt and black pants went well, and she pleasantly noticed that his mop of blonde hair was well groomed, as was his face. Standing as he approached close enough, Kiyone gave him a shy smile in return for his greeting.
"Kiyone," Jamus said quietly as the woman stood before him, greeting him with a smile. "You look nice." Indeed, Jamus noted, she did look good. Kiyone chose to wear a simple skirt and blouse for their meeting and he noticed that she filled the black, loose fitting skirt and very light blue blouse very well. Her entire outfit seemed to accentuate her creamy skin and brought out her aquamarine eyes well.
"Thank you," Kiyone replied formally after his compliment, and then made a gesture towards the seat across from her. "Shall we?"
"Sure."
Over the next few hours, Kiyone considered herself thoroughly entertained as her and Jamus talked about a wide variety of subjects ranging from their schooling and her previous job. She was very happy to note that not a bit of sadness leaked into her tone as she related to her teammate the situation surrounding her eventual release from the GP and the events leading up to her arrival on Rukbat. Of course, most of the names of people were kept vague when referring to her small vacation to Earth and Jurai as she figured that discretion in those areas was vital. Despite the generalization, though, she found that they had much to share about travels across the galaxy. It seemed that Jamus had a passion for traveling, no matter where it was and was keenly interested in everything she had to say about the many planets she had visited as a part of the Galaxy Police force. In him, she found a willing listener, and, to her surprise, a keen speaker when a few of his favorite subjects were broached. In fact Kiyone was genuinely surprised that the evening passed so quickly when it came time to say goodbye and she readily agreed to another evening when he tentatively asked her.
The young woman had just entered her apartment after the evening, thinking that all in all the 'date' held quite a few pleasant surprises, when she noticed that her message light was blinking. Wondering who could have possibly called her while she was out Kiyone walked over to the player and looked at the location readout. The name got her attention immediately. She had been trying to call Ayeka for some time since she returned, and was getting worried that none of her communications seemed to go through to the planet Jurai. Everything turned up busy whenever she had tried, and that seemed funny to the naturally cautious young woman. Pressing the play button, Kiyone sat down across from the screen and waited for the message to play through its entirety. Once it was done however, she was scrambling for the phone unit with a frantic look on her face, trying desperately to reach her friend, the pleasant evening all but a forgotten.
Author's End Notes: Well, a nice little set up chapter that just sort of... ends. My apologies to the readers for the Ryoko thing, I wanted to include an additional scene in this part to give her a little bit more lines and such, but at the end, I decided that that particular scene would make a better opening scene than an ending one. So she'll begin to take on a semi-major role by next part. This chapter didn't take me long to write...well okay it was better than the year it took me to put out part A, right? ^^ I chucked this one down to a third of the writing time, so let's see if I can write the next one in another third of this writing time. I think it's doable, I mean I pretty much have been thinking non stop on Sacrifices for the past couple weeks and I think I have reasonably accounted for all the scenes well enough to get me to the end which I envisioned for this chapter way back when I first started writing this work.
Ironically enough, of the time it took me to write this part, it took me two and half months to start it and only four or so days of writing to finish it. Weird. I guess I thought about what I wanted in this part too much or something. Well, anyway. Some of the stuff to come: I definitely will resolve the Tenchi/Ayeka/Ryoko relationship by the end of Sacrifices. For good or for ill I won't say here, but one way or another it will be resolved as it plays a central role in the final chapter. Also, it looks like this chapter will be even longer than I thought. Initially I was projecting around 30,000 words or so total. I think with all the scenes I have to put in order to get where I need to be it's going to be a bit longer than that so I may actually extend this to more than four parts. A lot of stuff will happen in chapter 5 and I'm kind of afraid I should have spaced it out more evenly in the earlier parts to make this a little bit more palatable. Rest assured though, that while this particular part is mostly boring setup stuff, the next two will be featuring some pretty heavy plot furthering things. I just needed a nice breather part to get everything into place.
What comes next: Tokimi reveals her plans, Ryoko proves that a little slumber can't hold her down when in the pursuit of Tenchi, meanwhile, Ayeka makes some changes and Sasami decides to play...matchmaker? All coming up next in Infinite Wills: Sacrifices, Part C. See you soon! Hopefully. ^^