Chapter Two
Mirrors and Phone Calls
She woke up crying. The dream was fading fast and she wasn't stopping it. There had been a man at a castle, the castle was burning and the man was laughing. Before long that was gone as well and all that was left was the terrible feeling that had woken her. She wanted to go to Ayeka or Tenchi for comfort. Every time she had one of these dreams one of them had always been there to make her feel better. But her last one had been over a year ago, and she was getting too old to go crying to someone whenever she had a bad dream.
She got up off of her futon, wiped her eyes and straightened out her bright green and yellow clothes. She then folded and put away the futon. A quick glance at the clock (which had been there for quite some time, she noted) told her it was a little after one thirty in the afternoon. As she walked past Ayeka's wardrobe she saw her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was a tangled mess and her eyes were red from crying. She sighed and sat down on the little stool in front of the mirror. She found a brush and went to work on her hair for the second time that morning. Her bangs were fine, but some of her hair had pulled away from the berets and was sticking out at funny angles. She took the berets off and let her hair fall free (so much as it could in its current state) and began to comb out the tangles. It was quite a bit more difficult this time around because her hair was dry and her hands were still shaking from the dream.
By the time her hair was tangle free her hands had quit shaking and her eyes were no longer red. The terrible feeling that the dream had left behind was almost completely gone. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled. A thought struck her and she decided to leave her hair down for the time being. She was digging through her sister's things looking for a clasp when a small chill ran up her back. She sat up straight and shivered. "Not again," she moaned. She looked around the room, trying to see what she had done this time. She didn't need Washu to tell her that she was the one who had made the water disappear. She couldn't find anything different about the bedroom so she turned back to the mirror with a relieved sigh.
Sasami started. Staring back at her with an amused grin on her face was Tsunami. She found herself staring back. It had been well over a year since she had seen Tsunami face to face. She had not realized how much she was starting to look like the goddess: especially now, with her hair down. Tsunami's face was more mature and she didn't have any freckles, but the only real difference between them was the marks on their foreheads. Tsunami's were round while Sasami's were triangular.
"Hello, Sasami," Tsunami appeared to be speaking, but Sasami heard the words in her mind.
Seeing Tsunami so suddenly after everything else that had happened earlier that morning brought all the feelings and emotions she had only just brought under control flooding back and she felt like crying again. Tsunami must have sensed this, because her face softened.
"I'm sorry it's been so long since we've talked face to face. I know what you've been through today and how hard it's been for you."
"Do you know how I did those things?"
"Yes, that is the reason I decided to come to you like this. Most of the time I can comfort you and explain things to you from inside. But with everything that has happened today and the events you have had to recall, I felt a more direct explanation was appropriate."
"So you're going to tell me how I made all the water disappear? And that clock? Washu thinks I made that show up, too."
"I'll tell you what I can," Tsunami took a breath before continuing. "I know it's not something you like to think about, but you know that you and I will eventually be one person. Besides letting you know that this would happen, I never really talked to you about this before now because I knew your feelings on the matter and I felt that time was on our side."
At these words Sasami cringed slightly. Tsunami was right, of course, it was not a subject she liked to think about. Even so, it had been on her mind a lot recently; especially today.
"The first thing I need to tell you; and you must understand this, is that you are the real Sasami. You did not die that day, but you survived by assimilating with me."
Sasami was shocked. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"
"If I had told you sooner you would not have understood. Death is not an easy thing to understand, especially for one so young. At the time what you needed to understand was that you were loved, no matter what. And up until recently, that was enough."
Now she was really confused. "But if I wasn't dead, then why did you need to merge with me? Tenchi's injuries were far worse, but you didn't need to in order to save him."
"I did give him a part of me, but that is a question that will have to wait until later, I'm afraid. Just know that it was necessary at the time. If I had not, then you would have died."
Sasami didn't understand, but decided to let the subject go for the moment. She needed some time to think about what Tsunami had just told her. She was the real Sasami! That meant that Ayeka was her real sister and her parents were really hers as well!
Tsunami was not finished. "You wanted me to tell you how you made the water disappear?"
She nodded. The revelations about her identity had driven that from her mind.
"You know that you have some special powers because of me. Your dreams are one of these. It was also one of these that allowed you to transport to our ship and save Tenchi. Unfortunately you have never had any conscious control over these powers. It appears that as you and I are becoming one, more of my powers are becoming available to you. However, you still have no control over these new powers. So, when you found yourself thinking about the time, a clock appeared. The same thing happened with the water; you thought you had gotten to much, so it left, just not in the way your subconscious intended."
Sasami's mind was still reeling, so it took a little time to process this new information. "But, I thought it was you who helped Tenchi."
"I think it would be a good idea if you started thinking of yourself as me. But yes, I was the one who healed him and sent him to Kagato's ship. But I could not have done it without you, remember, I'm inside of you now and can't go anywhere without you."
"But, aren't you also in your tree, on the ship? And you said a part of you is in Tenchi as well." She had a million other questions she wanted to ask Tsunami but the goddess raised her hand and shook her head.
"You will understand everything in time, there are many things about myself that can't be explained with words. When we are one you will know everything I do because you will, in essence, be me."
Sasami nodded and looked at her lap. Some of this she already knew, somehow. But hearing it put to words by Tsunami made it all the more real. Something she could no longer ignore.
"I know you are worried about what will happen to you when we are fully merged; so before I go, I want you to know that you will still be yourself, but much more at the same time. You will still have all your memories and you will feel the same. It doesn't make much sense now, I know, but it will when the time comes. I know you need some time to think about all this, but I want you to know that I am always here for you."
Sasami looked up at the mirror and gave Tsunami a little smile. "I know, thank you."
Tsunami smiled back. Her image faded and disappeared, leaving Sasami looking at an empty mirror for a second before her own reflection reappeared. She sat staring at herself for a long time, not thinking about anything. After a while some thoughts started to work their way into her head. Tsunami had said that she was the real Sasami. She still didn't know how she felt about that. Of course she was relieved to know who she was, but after all those years of thinking she was someone else it would take some time to get used to. Also, she didn't like the sounds of not having any control over the kind of powers that could make things disappear. What if she accidentally made the house vanish, or worse, her sister or Tenchi or one of her friends? Now she really needed to talk to someone.
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"Here you go, Ryo-ohki," said Tenchi, handing her a dustpan. "You can hold this while I sweep." Ryo-ohki smiled and took the dustpan from him. It was time for the afternoon chores and everyone was busy with their various tasks. Mihoshi was washing the dishes from breakfast and lunch, Ayeka was cleaning the bathrooms and Ryoko was doing the laundry. Tenchi and Ryo-ohki were cleaning the floors. Ryo-ohki tried to help Tenchi in any way she could whenever he was home. Sometimes she could, and other times her help caused more work than it saved. But Tenchi didn't mind, for him it was like having a baby sister (even if she did look like a cat half the time). Today he was going to show her how to scrub the floors. Washu was scheduled to sweep outside, but he had let her off to give her more time in the lab. He was starting to get a little concerned about what was taking her so long. Of course, he had no idea how long an investigation about water that vanished into the clear blue sky was supposed to take, but Washu had sounded confident that it would only take a few hours. That was over six hours ago, and he had only seen her once since then when she came up for a bite to eat. Even then she had only said a few words before disappearing back into her lab. He shook his head, worrying about it wouldn't make her work any faster.
"Come on," he said to Ryo-ohki. "Let's get to work."
He was helping her scrub the front hallway when he noticed Sasami watching them from the stairs. Her hair was down and she looked a little tired, but she was smiling. Ryo-ohki "Miya'd" and jumped up and ran to her. With a "poof" of smoke she transformed into her cabit form and climbed up to her usual perch on Sasami's head.
"Well hello, Sasami!" Tenchi said, getting up and smiling at her. "How was your nap?"
Sasami laughed and patted Ryo-ohki's head. "It helped some, thank you," she told Tenchi. "Have you seen Ayeka? She wasn't upstairs."
"She was cleaning the bathrooms, but I think she's done now so she's probably with Washu in her lab."
"She's still in there?"
"Yep," Tenchi said, scratching the back of his head and looking at the red door under the stairs that led to Washu's subspace lab. "I guess it's giving her more trouble than she thought it would."
Sasami picked Ryo-ohki up off her head. "You stay here and help Tenchi finish cleaning the floor," she told the cabit. "I'm going to go find Ayeka."
Ryo-ohki frowned, but did what Sasami said. She hopped down the stairs and changed back to her child form. Tenchi laughed and patted her on the head.
"When we're done we can go get some carrots, how does that sound?" he asked her.
She "miya'd" happily and began scrubbing the floor again. Sasami laughed and started down the stairs. Before she reached the bottom step the lab door opened and Washu and Ayeka stepped through.
"Oh, hello, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka said. "Is Sasami awake yet?"
Tenchi nodded at the base of the stairs to his right.
"Ayeka, I was about to come looking for you," Sasami said.
"Well! I guess we saved you a trip then," said Washu, putting her hands behind her head. "It took a lot of work, but I finally solved that little mystery we had this morning, if you all want to go into the living room I can tell you what I learned."
"Okay, I wanted to talk to you about that anyway," she said. "Come on, Ryo-Ohki, lets go."
She held out her hand to the cabit, and they entered the living room together. Tenchi and the others followed. Washu took her place in front of the couch while the rest took their seats. They waited for Washu to start, but to Tenchi's suprise it was Sasami who spoke first.
"I know it was me who did those things this morning. I'm sorry you had to do so much work, Miss Washu."
"Don't worry about it, it was very interesting. So Tsunami told you, huh?"
"Yes. She said I'm getting some more of her powers."
"More of her powers?" Tenchi asked. "You mean you already had some?"
She looked at Ayeka for a second before she answered, "Some small ones, but nothing I realy knew about."
Before he could say anything else Ayeka spoke up, "So she told you how you did those things?"
Sasami gave her sister a small smile. "Sort of, she said that it had something to do with what I was thinking about at the time, like what time it was and how long I had been in the bath."
"But she didn't tell you how you could control them?"
Sasami shook her head. "No, I was hoping one of you might have some ideas. I don't want to make one of you guys disappear too."
Tenchi knew how she felt. He thought of his own power, the Wings of the Light Hawk, and the few times he had used them. At the time, he had no idea how he had done it, and he had never been able to use them since. Of course, he had not had any reason to. Still, he would have felt a lot better if he knew how to call them up at will.
"I'm sorry, Sasami. But I can't even control my own Light Hawk Wings." A thought struck him and he turned to Washu. "Do you think Ryoko could help?"
"I don't think Ryoko knows how she does anything, much less how to teach someone else." Ayeka mumbled.
Sasami looked at her and said, "Ayeka, that's not nice!"
"No, I think she's right, at least to a certain extent," Washu said, still pacing. "Ryoko uses her powers in much the same way you and I breath or move our bodies. Do you know exactly how you breath, or move your fingers? Could you teach someone else how to even if you did? It's instinct, you're born with it." She shook her head, "After you learn how to control these powers and know what you can do with them Ryoko might be able to help, but I don't think she could tell you how to use them."
"What about you, Miss Washu?" Sasami asked. "You made Ryoko, so you know how she does those things."
"Actually I don't, not exactly. When I designed her, I encoded her powers into her DNA, so she was basically born knowing how to use them. I never had to teach her how, call it a time saver of sorts." She stopped her pacing and got a thoughtful look on her face.
"What is it, Little Washu?" Tenchi asked.
"I just had an idea. We could send Sasami to school."
"School?" Sasami said. "You mean like reading and writing? But I learned all that on Jurai, how could it help me with this?"
"Not elementary, my dear Sasami, but specialized training from the best the Science Academy has to offer. We aught to be able to find someone there who has some kind of knowledge about this sort of thing. Well, not exactly this sort of thing, but close enough. Besides, the experience would be good for you."
Sasami thought about it for a moment. "Well, you and Brother Yosho both went to the Academy, I guess I could too."
"Wait a minute, doesn't the Academy have an age limit?" Ayeka said. "Besides that, what would happen if it was found out that a Royal Princess was attending."
"Don't worry," Washu said. "Your brother did it, and you Royal types are hardly defenseless. But right now we need to call your parents and let them know what is going on. Besides, if they say 'no' I know of a place here on Earth that might be even better."
That surprised Tenchi. "Huh? What are you talking about, Little Washu?"
"Sorry, no more questions until we talk to Sasami's parents. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a long distance call to arrange."
"Uhm, Miss Washu?" Sasami asked
"Yes?"
Sasami held her stomach and grimmaced a little, "Could I have some lunch first? I'm starving."
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Sasami was getting used to the nervous feeling it felt like she'd had in her stomach since early morning. At least this time it looked like Washu would be doing most of the talking, since she wanted to discuss some of her ideas with her parents. Once they were in Washu's lab, it had been a simple thing for her to set up a communications link with Jurai and it had only taken her a few minutes to contact Sasami and Ayeka's aunt, the Lady Funaho, who hardly seemed surprised to receive an unannounced call from Washu. At the moment, they were waiting for her to return with their father, King Azusa, and mother, Lady Misaki. Normally, if someone wanted to talk directly to a member of the Royal Family it required placing a call to the palace switchboard. The caller would then be questioned about the purpose and legitimacy of the call and subjected to a security screening. If it was determined the call was worth disturbing the King or one of the Queens over, it would be transferred and the caller would be placed on hold while he waited. The whole process was very time consuming. While it was certain that Ayeka or Sasami would be instantly transferred, Washu determined and they agreed that it would be best if as few people as possible knew that they were even calling. Besides, Sasami had the feeling that Washu enjoyed finding ways around complex security systems such as the Palace had.
Tenchi was not with them. He had said that he wouldn't feel right being there while they discussed family business. He had also seemed a bit nervous. The last time Tenchi had met Sasami's parents, her father had tried to force him to fight with a nobleman he had chosen for Ayeka to marry. Mihoshi had crashed her ship into the lake before the fight had even began and the nobleman, whose name was Seiryo, was washed off of the dock. Her Father was not happy, but consented that Tenchi had won. She couldn't blame Tenchi for not being too eager to talk to him again. Instead, he decided to bring Ryoko and Mihoshi up to speed on what was happening while she, Ayeka and Washu spoke with her parents.
Lady Funaho reappeared on the view screen. She was tall and elegant, with her long black hair worn down in the traditional Juraian style, and a single, round, green mark in the center of her forehead. With her were Sasami's mother and father. Her mother, Misaki, was also tall, though not as tall as Funaho. Her hair was the same blue color as Sasami's and she wore it tied back in a ponytail. Her face looked much like Sasami's as well and always seemed to have a smile, she had two marks on her forehead. Unlike Sasami's, the marks on her mother and aunt's foreheads were artificial, simply indicators of their royal status.
Her father was a much more impressive figure than her mother and aunt were (which was saying something). He was tall and broad shouldered. His hair was dark purple, long, and worn in the same style as Funaho's, with his sideburns almost reaching the middle of his impressive biceps. His face was hard and stern, with a full beard covering most of it.
"Ayeka, Sasami," he said in his gruff voice. "It is good to see you again." His gaze fell on Washu and he gave her a little nod, "Washu."
"Sasami!" Misaki said before anyone had the chance to reply. She pushed her husband out of the way and looked straight at Washu. She was so close to the screen that all Sasami could see was her face. Her eyes filled with tears and she clasped her hands under her chin. "Oh, my little Sasami! You've gone and dyed your hair, it's so red, I just love it!"
Washu stared at the screen for a moment, "Uh, Lady Misaki? I'm Washu. Sasami's behind me."
Misaki blinked and looked from Washu to Sasami a few times. Then her smile widened and she clasped her hands under her chin again. "Sasami! You have changed your hair! I think it looks wonderful! It's so mature."
"Hi, Mommy! I miss you." Sasami said with a huge smile. She loved the way her mother acted. It was exactly the way you would not expect the head of the Royal Bodyguard to behave, especially since she was an expert martial artist. But that was a large part of why she was loved so much by the Juraian people, she even had a large fan club (which Sasami's grandfather, Utsumi, was the head of).
Misaki turned to Ayeka and glared at her. She sighed, then clasped her hands under her chin and said, "My Mommy!" with huge, water filled eyes.
Misaki smiled, "My little Ayeka! Mommy misses you!"
Ayeka moaned a little, "I miss you too, Mommy."
From somewhere off screen Azusa cleared his throat. Misaki blinked and regained her composure, she moved back a little so everyone could see the King and Funaho, who was quietly smiling.
"Washu, I understand you have a matter of importance to discuss with us?" he said. Then he added seriously, "One so important it could not be routed through the proper channels?"
Washu nodded. "Yes. We chose not to use the proper channels because it is about Sasami that we need to speak to you and we figured the fewer people who know we called, the better." Then she added, with a sly smile at Funaho, "I know how you Juraians love to gather information."
She was right about that. Sasami knew that the main reason her parents had visited Earth the last time was because Mihoshi's report on the incident with Kagato contained a lot of information about Ryoko and the gems that provided her with her powers. Her Aunt Funaho was the Minister of Information and had wanted to speak with Washu about Ryoko and Ryo-ohki. Sasami didn't know all the details, but she did know that she and Washu had come to some sort of an agreement.
"What do you mean you need to talk to us about Sasami?" asked the King. "Is she in trouble? Sasami, what did you do?"
"Well, she did do something, but it's not what you're thinking," Washu said with a smile. Then she got serious and looked at the three Royals in turn. "I know you remember Sasami telling you a while back about her experience with Tsunami and the resulting connection she has with her."
Azusa and Funaho nodded. Misaki brought a hand up to her face and looked like she was about to cry.
Washu continued, "Well, It looks like she is beginning to manifest some of Tsunami's powers. Unfortunately it also looks like she has no control over these powers. Just this morning she made all the water in the floating onsen vanish into thin air. She also made a clock appear on the wall."
Misaki gasped. Funaho stepped forward and asked, "You know for sure it was Sasami who did these things?"
Washu nodded, "Yes, for two reasons. One, I conducted a thorough investigation into the matter and could come to no other conclusion. And two, Tsunami herself told Sasami."
"So what does this mean?" asked Azusa. "That my little girl is becoming a Goddess?"
"Not yet," Washu said. "When that happens Tsunami won't have to tell Sasami anything, because she will be Tsunami. Kind of blows the mind, huh?"
Azusa looked hard at Washu, "This is not a laughing matter, Washu. I take it she is unable to control these powers?"
"Not at the moment, it seems that it is all subconscious. Fortunately that means the chance of her accidentally doing anything destructive is very small, since that is not in her nature. But it also means that we never know when something will happen or what it will do. Now as you know, many of us in this house have some experience dealing with special abilities, including Miss Ayeka here. However, we do not have any experience in teaching others how to control these abilities, since we were born into them. Miss Ayeka uses her key to access her powers and Sasami already knows how to do that. I imagine you three do the same."
"Yes," said Misaki. "All Juraians with tree ships use their ship's powers that way. They are trained to from the moment they are joined."
"And it makes perfect sense to do so, unfortunately that won't help Sasami much. Now my first thought is that we should be able to find someone at the Science Academy who would know something about this sort of thing. But that would mean that he would need to be trusted to be discrete in who he talked to. And even if he was, the chances of someone learning why she was there would still be awfully high. Not to mention the age limit, she is still three years to young, and that's taking into account special exemptions like the one I got."
"I don't like it," Azusa said. "The risk to Sasami is too high, the only reason I let her stay on Earth is because it's a protected world and all of you are there."
Ayeka spoke up, "We could bring him to us as a private tutor."
"We could, assuming he exists. But I have another plan, one that doesn't require Sasami to leave the planet and won't cause any awkward questions for your parents."
"What are you talking about, Washu?" asked Azusa.
"I'm talking about a little place called Hogwarts," she said with a smile.
"Hogwarts?" he repeated. "What kind of nonsense is this?"
"It's a school, designed specifically to teach children Sasami's age how to use their special powers. I only discovered it a few months ago. It seems they don't want people to know that they're there."
"I didn't know Earthlings had any powers," Funaho said.
"They call it magic, and most of them don't. The ones who do try to keep it hidden. It seems they had some rather nasty incidences a few hundred years ago that they don't want repeated. They mostly keep to themselves and have developed a rather unique society. They call themselves Witches and Wizards. Sasami and Ayeka have probably heard those terms before, and I'm sure Lady Funaho remembers them as well."
"I thought those were just stories." Sasami said, suddenly very interested.
"They mostly are. They deliberately let the stories grow as unbelievable as possible. It makes it easier to keep themselves hidden."
"What's this … Hogwarts place like?" Azusa asked. He did not sound too happy with the idea.
"That's one of the cool things about it. It's actually a castle, a huge one in Scotland. It's the best school they've got; very famous among their kind."
Sasami liked the sound of going to school inside a castle. Especially one in another country. Since she had been on Earth all she had seen of other countries was on T.V. It sounded very romantic.
"Where is Scotland?" Azusa asked. He still didn't sound convinced.
"On the other side of the planet, on an island about a third the size of Japan, pretty quaint actually," stated Washu.
"I think it sounds like a wonderful place," said Misaki.
"And you think these people could help Sasami?" Funaho asked.
"I'm not certain, but besides the Science Academy it's the best option I can think of."
"What sort of people are they? Will they care who Sasami is?" Azusa asked.
"Well, they're people," Washu said with a shrug. "Mostly good from what I could tell, but of course you've got a few bad eggs, just like anywhere else. But like the rest of the Earthlings they are not aware of life on planets other than their own, so we would have to tell them she's an exchange student or something similar. And their country's government is a sort of patriarchy so we would have to hide her royal status as well, but that wouldn't be difficult. Unlike the Academy, no one there could recognize her."
"So we would just continue like we are anyway, right?" Sasami said.
"Exactly."
"I think they sound like lovely people, and I like the plan. It would be good for Sasami to go to school with children her own age." Misaki said.
"Yes, I agree," said Funaho.
Azusa was very quiet for a few minutes, tapping his chin. Sasami found herself hoping he would say yes. Hogwarts sounded like a great place and it would be a wonderful adventure going to a school that taught people how to use magic. The thought of meeting other people her age that could do the same sorts of things she could was even more exciting. After a while, her father spoke up.
"All right Washu, send me all the information you have on this 'school' and I'll think about it. But I want you to keep looking for another solution, I still don't like the thought of entrusting my daughter to a bunch of strangers."
"You got it," Washu said. She tapped a few commands into her computer, "There's your info. And I'll see what else I can find, but I still think this is the best prospect."
"Just keep looking." To Sasami and Ayeka he said, "It was good to see you, I'll talk to you again soon," and then he left.
"Well, I think that went well, don't you Misaki?" Funaho said.
"Oh yes, very well," Misaki replied. "I think he likes your idea, Little Washu."
"Well, I'll keep looking for other options just to be safe," Washu replied. "But thanks for the vote of confidence, Lady Misaki, you too Lady Funaho."
"Well Sasami, what do you think?" Funaho asked her.
"I like it," she said. "It would be fun going to school with kids my age."
"Well then, that's settled," Misaki said. "I guess you can start making preperations, when the King says it's okay, we'll send you whatever permissions you need."
"Uhm, okay," Washu said, she turned and shrugged at Sasami and Ayeka. "I'll see who I need to talk to and let you know what we need then."
"We should be going now," Funaho said. "It truly was good to see you girls again."
Misaki started to tear up. "I'll talk to you again soon. I love you Sasami, Ayeka," she said between sobs.
"Goodby, Mommy," Sasami said with a wave and a smile. "I love you too."
"Goodby, Lady Funaho, it was good to see you as well. Goodby Mother, I love you too" Ayeka said. Misaki glared at her. "I mean Mommy," she corrected instantly.
Washu just grinned and waved. After the screen had gone dark she turned and looked at Sasami. "Well, I guess we need to teach you how to speak English now, don't we?"
End of Chapter Two
