Chapter Three
At the Sign of the Leaky Cauldron
"Why do we all have to go through this?" Ryoko complained as Washu stuck some little plastic discs to her head.
"Because it will be easier for Sasami to learn English if we all speak it. The best way to learn a language is to be completely immersed in it," she replied.
"But if you're pumping it into our heads, what's left to learn?"
"Lots of things. All I'm giving you are the words and grammar, you will still need to get used to hearing and speaking it. English isn't like Japanese you know, they say things quite a bit differently, and that will take some getting used to."
"All right, let's do this then," Ryoko said, crossing her arms.
They were all sitting around the living room while Washu hooked them up to her computer one by one and downloaded the language files into their heads. Sasami had been first. She had never felt anything quite like it, in one instant she knew an entire language, slang and all. She also realized what Washu had meant about the language taking a while to get used to. It was very different from Japanese. She knew a few of the words of course, it was impossible not to, but there were so many ways to use them that she hardly knew where to begin. And the pronunciations! She didn't know that her tongue could make some of those sounds. As Washu finished with the others, she could see that they were having the same troubles, and that made her feel a little better. The exception was Mihoshi. When her turn was over she started speaking it like she had been born knowing how. Then Washu's computer broke down before Ryoko could take her turn and it took over an hour to fix. By that time Sasami, Tenchi and Ayeka were becoming more comfortable with the words coming out of their mouths and they could even say a few sentences.
Washu finished hooking Ryoko up and typed some commands into the computer. It beeped and whizzed just like it had for Sasami and the others. After a minute a cartoon crab popped up on the screen and a little word balloon appeared over its head saying "Finished". Ryoko climbed out of her chair.
"Okay Washu, now it's your turn," she said in perfect English. "Wow, I guess it worked. I don't know what you were talking about, it's not that hard a language."
"Of course it works, I already tested it on myself just to be sure," Washu said in English, with a hint of indignation. "Do you think I'd try something on you guys if I wasn't sure it would work?"
"YES," they all said in English.
She slumped her shoulders and sighed, "And I call you guys my friends, that's gratitude for ya'"
"What about Ryo-ohki?" Sasami asked slowly, still struggling with the words. "Doesn't she need to be hooked up too?"
"Nope. All she needs to do is link up with Ryoko, if she hasn't already."
"Okay you," Ryoko said. She picked up Ryo-ohki and held her at face level, "Let's get you in on this little experiment, too."
Ryo-ohki looked at her and meowed a question.
"Well give me a minute and you will be able to understand me, now quit wiggling." Ryoko stared at her for a moment then said, "There, now was that so bad?"
Ryo-ohki meowed happily and wiggled out of her grasp. She landed on the floor and hopped over to Sasami, who picked her up and put her on her head. They both smiled. Washu's computer began to beep.
"Well, it's about time they called back. I expected it a few days ago." she said, looking at a window in the corner of the screen.
"Who is it, Little Washu?" Tenchi asked, reverting back to Japanese.
She looked over at Sasami, "It's your parents. I sent the consent forms to them a week ago. I wonder what took so long."
"It probably took Mother and Funaho that long to get Father to sign them," Ayeka said. "I still don't think he likes the idea of Sasami going to a strange school."
"It's not that strange," Washu said. "There're some classes at the Science Academy that you wouldn't believe."
"Like what, Miss Washu?" Mihoshi asked.
"Well, the Galactic Theory studies are pretty wild," she said with a gleam in her eye. "And the Philosophy department can be absolutely mind-blowing at times. Do you know that they could even prove the existence of God if the Natural Science department would let them? Actually I think they already have, but they never published it." Then she added, "They could also just as easily disprove His existence, but that wouldn't be as much fun."
"Wow," Mihoshi said. "What were we talking about again?"
Before Washu could strangle her, the computer beeped again and Sasami said, "Miss Washu, aren't you going to answer the phone?"
"Yah, yah," Washu said with a wave of her hand. "It took them this long to call back, they can wait a few minutes." She typed a command into her computer and the screen changed to show King Azusa, who was looking quite impatient. His mood did not improve any when he saw Tenchi.
"Hello, Ayeka, Sasami," he said.
"Hello, Father," Ayeka said.
"Hello, Father!" Sasami said. "Did you finally sign those papers?"
He grimaced. "Yes, Sasami, I signed them. You can go to this 'school' if that's what you really want."
"Thank you, Daddy."
He looked at the others, "But I want all of you to keep an eye on her at all times."
"Aw, Daddy," Sasami moaned. She knew there would be a catch.
"How are we supposed to do that?" asked Ryoko. "I doubt that they'll let us hang around all year."
"I already figured it out," Washu said. "I knew you'd say that, and I wanted a way to check in on her as well. Each student is allowed to take a pet along with them. They usually restrict it to a cat, owl, or frog. But Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster, is willing to make an exception in Sasami's case and will let her take Ryo-ohki. That way Ryo-ohki can keep an eye on Sasami and Ryoko can check in with her whenever we need to. Besides, I'm sure she'd want to go with Sasami anyway."
Ryo-ohki meowed her agreement.
"That's great Washu!" Sasami said, and she hugged Ryo-ohki. She wasn't counting on taking Ryo-ohki with her. She was her best friend, and it would be good to have her around. She also knew that she wouldn't tell on her if anything happened.
"Don't worry Your Majesty, I won't let anything happen to Sasami," Tenchi said.
"Yes, I'm sure you won't," Azusa said in a tone Sasami couldn't quite place. "I'm sure you will be needing some money as well?" he continued, looking at Ayeka.
Ayeka brought her hand up to her mouth and blushed. "Oh! I'm sorry, Father. I didn't think about that, but I guess we will need some for her supplies and tuition."
He sighed and said, "They do still use gold on that planet?"
"Yes, at least I think they do."
"That would work, Your Majesty," Washu said.
"Very well, if one of you can meet my currier at the border of the Solar System, I can get some to you in a few days. I've already sent the papers to Washu's computer."
"I'll go immediately, Your Majesty!" Mihoshi said with a salute.
"What?" Azusa said. "You don't have to leave yet!" But Mihoshi wasn't listening. She had already brought out her control cube and was twisting it this way and that. Suddenly she was wearing her police uniform.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Detective Mihoshi is on the case! That gold will reach Earth safe and sound!" With one more twist of her cube and a flash of light she was gone.
Azusa looked at Sasami, "Is she always like that?"
Sasami sighed and said, "Yep."
"But you really don't need to worry," Washu added. "She may be an airhead, but she somehow always gets the job done. Anyway, thanks for sending the paperwork, aside from that it's almost all set up. I told Dumbledore that Sasami had to study abroad and we decided on Hogwarts because it's the best. He bought that without question, but we may want to watch out around him. I've got the feeling he knew I was leaving something out, but he never said anything."
"You're certain your cover story was good?" Azusa asked.
"Positive. There's no school for wizards in Japan that I'm aware of, and Hogwarts is the best school they've got. Besides that, they don't use computers so any records they need I could forge in a heartbeat. But nothing is foolproof, so we need to be careful with what we say and who we say it to."
"Well then, be careful. Sasami, I expect you to do your best. Even if they don't know it, you are a princess of Jurai and I expect you to act like it. Ayeka, I leave you in charge of making sure she stays out of trouble, and I will be checking in on her."
"I love you, Daddy! I'll make you proud!" Sasami said with a huge grin. Things were going well. Even though she knew she would be going from the moment her Mother had said it was all right, she was glad her Father agreed. He was even paying for it! And she got to take Ryo-ohki with her! It was almost like she was getting her own private vacation. Then she remembered why she had to go to school in the first place, but even that was not so bad anymore. The whole thing was easier to take now that she knew she hadn't really died that day. It also helped that there hadn't been anymore incidents.
"Don't worry Father, Sasami will do fine," Ayeka said.
"That's right, we're all here to help!" Washu said.
"I'll call back later, after you've been there a few weeks." Azusa said.
"Okay, bye Daddy!" Sasami said. The screen went blank.
"Well, I guess it's official," said Tenchi.
"No, it was official last week when Mother said it was okay," Ayeka said. "Now it just means Father's okay with it. He must be taking this very seriously."
"Well this is a serious matter," said Ryoko. "Like Sasami said, she doesn't want one of us disappearing. Of course I wouldn't mind it if you did."
"I wouldn't mind if she turned you into a frog," Ayeka replied.
"Careful Princess," Ryoko said. "She might miss and hit you."
"Stop it you two," Tenchi said, much to Sasami's relief. "That's not funny." He turned and looked at Washu. "Speaking of supplies, do we even know what Sasami is going to need yet? And where are we going to get it?"
Sasami hadn't thought of that yet. She'd assumed that all she'd need was pens and paper and the like. But aside from the name of the school and what country it was in, she knew almost nothing about it. She didn't even know if she needed a uniform or not. She also realized she knew even less about the world she was about to enter. Maybe they didn't use pens and paper. The nervous feeling in her stomach was starting to come back.
"Not yet," Washu answered. "But don't worry. School doesn't start for another two weeks, and they're supposed to send us a letter with all that information. In fact, we should be getting it any day now."
"So I guess now all we can do is wait," Ayeka said.
"Nope," Washu said, putting on her professor's robes. "Now we get back to our English lessons."
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Mihoshi returned a few days later with a couple of bags of gold. After they pulled her ship out of the lake the gold was placed in a safe in Sasami and Ayeka's room. The letter arrived a week after that. Tenchi was starting to worry that it would never show up. When it finally did arrive, he understood what had taken so long. He had gotten up that morning and was headed out for a bath when he found a very disheveled owl laying exhausted at the doorstep. On its leg was a pouch containing an envelope and a map of London. He took the poor bird inside and gave it some food and water. He had to ask Washu if she knew what sort of food an owl might like. After a while the bird had regained its strength and taken off. By that time everyone else had gotten up and was waiting in the living room.
"What a strange way to deliver the mail," Ayeka said. "No wonder the letter was late, the poor thing."
"At least it got here," Tenchi said.
"What does the letter say?" asked Sasami.
"It's addressed to you," he said, handing it to her. "Why don't you read it to us? It's in English so it'll be good practice."
Sasami took it from him and broke the seal, there were two pieces of paper and what looked like a golden train ticket inside. "Uhm, okay." She began to slowly read the first page:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
~
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Miss Masaki,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
"Here's the list," she said, looking at the second page. "Wow, there sure is a lot of stuff here." After she looked it over she handed it to Tenchi, the others looked over his shoulder at it:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
~
UNIFORM
First year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Aldalbert Waffling
A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self- Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size two)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
"It's a good thing your Dad sent so much gold, huh?" said Ryoko.
"Wow!" said Mihoshi. "You get to have a magic wand?"
"Where are we going to get all that stuff?" Ayeka asked. "I don't think they have any magic wands or cauldrons in Tokyo"
Tenchi looked at the map the owl had brought with it. Above one section the words Diagon Alley were written in long, flowing letters.
"I think we have to go to London," he said, and handed her the map.
"Is that near Tokyo?" asked Mihoshi.
"No, you bubblehead," said Ryoko. "It's in England."
"Oh," she said, putting a finger up to her mouth. "So it's not near Tokyo?"
"It's on the other side of the world." Tenchi said taking the map from Ayeka and hading it to her.
She looked at the map for a moment and then said, "Oh, Okay! So I guess we'll need to use Ryo-ohki to get there, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Tenchi. "She could get us there in no time."
"We could make a vacation of it," said Ayeka. "We could stay there until Sasami has to leave for school. None of us have ever been out of the country before. It would be fun to see another part of the world."
That sounded like a good idea to Tenchi. He could see no reason why they shouldn't; at least a few of them needed to go to London, why not all of them? Cheap travel was one of the advantages to having a spaceship for a pet.
"Yah, that would be fun," he said. "I would love to spend a few days in London, and it'll be a good opportunity to see what the wizard's world is like."
"That would be great! But where would we sleep?" Sasami asked, holding Ryo-ohki tight. "We can't ask poor Ryo-ohki to stay a spaceship all night while we're asleep, it wouldn't be fair."
"We can stay in the Leaky Cauldron," Mihoshi said. It looks like they have good rates."
"What are you talking about?" Ryoko asked. "How do you know that?"
"Well, I was just thinking about the same thing Sasami asked when the map told me."
"The map told you?"
"Uh-huh," Mihoshi nodded.
"Let me see that," she snatched it out of Mihoshi's hands and stared at it. "Hey! She's right, look at this!"
Everyone crowded around Ryoko and stared at the map. Above the building at one end of Diagon Ally was written the words "The Leaky Cauldron, pub and inn," with a price list underneath.
"Huh," said Tenchi. "I don't remember seeing that."
"I don't know how you could miss it, it's right there," Ryoko said pointing at the map.
Ayeka looked from the map to Ryoko a few times. "He's right, that wasn't there when I had it."
"Let's see that," Washu said, holding out her hand. Ryoko passed it to her. She studied it for a minute, twisting and turning it this way and that. "Ah ha!" she exclaimed. "I thought so. Take a look at this," she said, pointing to another building. Above it were the words "Flourish and Blotts, bookstore". "Now check this out," she said. As they watched "Flourish and Blotts" disappeared and "Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions, tailor and uniform shop" appeared above another building. "All you gotta do is think about what you need and the map shows you where you need to go. Now that's what I call user friendly."
"Wow," Mihoshi said. "Is that magic?"
Tenchi was still staring at the map. "Yes, Mihoshi. I think that's magic."
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Late the next morning they headed for London. It had not taken Sasami long to pack, most of what she needed they would be getting in Diagon Alley. What had taken a while was saying goodbye to her home. It had been a lot harder than she thought it would be. She knew that she would be back at the end of the term, if not during the holidays. That didn't make it any easier, though. Still, she was excited to finally be on her way to school. It had been a long couple of weeks since Washu had first brought up the subject, weeks filled with daydreams and English lessons. She still knew almost nothing about the world that she was entering, but that just added to her excitement. She had heard all the stories about witches and wizards, and the thought that she was about to go to school and learn to be one was almost too much. Actually, she told herself, you're going to school to learn to be a goddess.
The flight to London took only a few minutes. All Ryo-ohki (who was piloted by Ryoko) had to do was fly out of the atmosphere, make a short orbit and then head back down. It was still very early in the morning when they reached London. The sun wouldn't be coming up for another hour at least and a heavy fog hung in the air, so it was a simple thing to land unnoticed. Even so, Washu had them choose a park a few miles from the Leaky Cauldron to further minimize their chances of being seen. Washu placed their things in subspace and they teleported to the ground. Ryo-ohki changed to her cabit form and firmly perched herself on Sasami's head. Sasami shivered and put her jacket on, it was cold for the end of August.
"So now what do we do?" Ryoko asked, apparently not bothered by the cool air. "I think we showed up a little too early, none of the shops'll be open yet."
"First we should find the Leaky Cauldron and get some rooms," said Tenchi as he put on his jacket. "Who has the map?"
"I have it right here," Ayeka said, pulling it out of her coat pocket. She handed it to Tenchi.
Sasami watched as he unrolled it and tried to find their location. Everyone else gathered around. To no ones surprise the park they were in highlighted itself. What did surprise them were the little dots with each of their names above them that appeared in the middle of the park.
"Well, that's new," Ryoko said.
"This map just gets more and more useful, doesn't it?" Washu said.
"Well at least no one can get lost now," said Tenchi. "And we won't have any problem finding the inn"
"So let's get going," said Ryoko.
"Okay," said Tenchi as he studied the map. He pointed at the street they could just see beyond the park's border, "All we have to do is follow that street for a while and we should come across the inn."
"Hope you all brought your walking shoes," Washu said. "I doubt the busses or cabs are running yet. Oh, and Ryoko?"
"Yeah?" she said, turning in midair to look at Washu.
"No flying, this is a city, remember."
"Right, right," she sighed and floated back down to the ground.
"Let's go, then," said Tenchi as he rolled the map up and placed it in his pocket.
Sasami was practically bouncing as they headed for the street. She couldn't wait to get her first glimpse of her new world. The street was nearly empty as they reached it, only a few cars filled with early morning commuters passed by. As the morning wore on they only passed a few other pedestrians out for a morning stroll. They were given a few odd glances, but no one said anything more than "Good Morning" to them. As the sun started to rise the fog lifted a little and it started to warm up. One by one they pulled their jackets off and Washu stuffed them into subspace along with the rest of their things. As it got brighter Sasami was able to get her first good look at the city around her. This was nothing like Okayama or even Tokyo. The crowds of people she had come to associate with cities were nowhere to be seen, nor were the large, flashing advertisements and brightly colored store signs. Most of the houses were painted one shade of brown or another and they all seemed to be connected to each other. Most had only a small patch of grass in front of them. It also sounded different. At the crosswalks she was surprised to find that they didn't make any noise when it was time to cross. Also absent was the noise from cell phones or electronic store-front advertising. Instead they were replaced with a distant police siren or the muffled sound of a news program from a house they were passing. Even the traffic sounded different. Every once in a while they would see large, multi-storied red busses pass by. Ayeka wanted to take one the rest of the way to the inn, but everyone else was enjoying the walk too much, so she was voted down.
By the time they reached the Leaky Cauldron it was starting to feel more like the cities Sasami knew. The inn was located farther into the city than the park they had started in, the buildings here were taller and the morning commute was starting to pick up. They started passing more pedestrians and Sasami noticed that most of them were in business suits. Many of them were giving Sasami curious glances and she realized that they were looking at Ryo-ohki. She took her off of her head and carried her in her arms like a stuffed animal.
The Leaky Cauldron was a small, grubby looking pub surrounded by a bookstore on one side and a music shop on the other.
"We're going to stay here?" Ayeka asked, with obvious distaste.
"Come on Princess, where's your sense of adventure?" Ryoko replied, coming up behind her and placing her hands on her shoulders. "Besides, it doesn't look that bad to me."
Ayeka pinched one of Ryoko's hands and said, "Yes, well, a dog house would look good to you if it served drinks, wouldn't it?"
Ryoko pulled her hands back and glared at her. People were starting to stare, no one else seemed to be able to see the pub and Sasami had the feeling they were wondering what this odd group of people were all looking at. It made her very uncomfortable.
"Come on you guys, let's see what it's like inside," she said, and headed for the door.
Inside it was very dark and even shabbier than it was outside. On one side was a bar tended by an old, bald and toothless man. Tables were scattered around the room, which was quite full of people despite the early hour. Sasami had never seen such an odd group of people before. In one corner two little old ladies in capes and feather hats were reading a paper over their breakfast. She wasn't sure, but she thought some of the pictures were moving. At another table a man wearing green robes and a top hat was smoking a long pipe and talking to a short, wrinkled man with pointed ears. There were all sorts; tall, short, fat, thin, old, young, and some who she couldn't even begin to guess at their age. Almost all of them were wearing robes and many had tall, pointed hats as well. Sasami suddenly felt very out of place.
"What can I get for ya?" the barkeep asked them. He had to yell to be heard over the noise of the crowd.
Tenchi pushed his way over to the bar, Sasami followed close behind. The others stayed behind, still taking in the sights.
"New here, huh?" asked the barkeep with a nod at the others. Ayeka looked like this was the last place in the world she wanted to be, Mihoshi was looking around her in awe, Ryoko was staring at the liquor cabinet and Washu had found a newspaper and buried her head in it.
"That obvious, huh?" said Tenchi, scratching the back of his head. "We need some rooms for a few days, if you have them."
"How many you need? We're pretty full up, what with school starting in a few days and all. The name's Tom, by the way," he said, offering his hand.
Tenchi took it, "I'm Tenchi and this is Sasami. There's six of us, so we'll probably need three."
"Can't do three, but I can spare you guys two, if some o' ya don't mind a cot that is."
"I guess we'll have to," Tenchi said.
"All righ' then, follow me and I'll show 'em to ya. They're at the end o' the hall, but they'll do ya fine, I think."
Tenchi waved at the others and they all followed Tom up a surprisingly nice staircase and down a long hallway. He stopped in front of two rooms near the end and unlocked the doors for them.
"Well, here ya go, I'll bring the cots up later. Let me know if ya need anything else."
"Thanks," Tenchi said.
Tom bowed and left.
Sasami entered one of the rooms and looked around. There wasn't much, but it was nice. There were two beds, some oak furniture, a fireplace with a fire already lit and a wardrobe. She hopped up on the bed closest to the fireplace.
"This one's mine!" she said, then she had an idea. She chuckled to herself and said, "Where are you sleeping, Tenchi?"
He scratched the back of his head and looked around. "Well, I figured I'd take one of the cots, but I hadn't really thought of which room I'd be in."
Ryoko materialized behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest. "You don't need to use one of those uncomfortable things, you can always sleep in my bed."
"How dare you suggest such a filthy thing! Especially with Sasami here!" Ayeka said. She turned to Tenchi and said politely, "You can stay in here with Sasami and I if you want, Lord Tenchi."
Ryoko glared at her. "And once Sasami goes to sleep you can have your way with him right? Just like in the shed? I don't think so Princess."
"If you think I'll just stand aside while you try to seduce Lord Tenchi you've got another thing coming!"
"Like you're not trying the same thing, Miss Innocent?" She clasped her hands under her chin and her eyes glazed over, "Oh, Lord Tenchi. You can sleep in my room if you want."
"At least I'm not trying to get him into bed, you hussy."
"Oh," Mihoshi said, hopping up and down. "Come on you two, let's not fight over this, at least not here."
The both turned on her, "YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!"
Tenchi groaned, still tightly wrapped in Ryoko's arms.
As the two women continued to fight, Washu climbed onto the bed beside Sasami and said, "You know, you can be pretty devious sometimes, anyone ever tell you that?"
Sasami laughed, and the two of them settled back to watch the show.
End of Chapter Three
