Log recorded on Cycle 05.12.79.43
Author: Lady Washu. Lady Tokimi. Lady Tsunami.
Heading: History. Unlocked on Cycle 54.68.12.45
Aeka had no difficulty rising from bed this morning. She felt unnaturally refreshed from last night's rest. When she was ready to start the day she was surprised to find Ryoko sipping warm tea Sasami had prepared.
"Ryoko... I'm shocked to see you up this early." Aeka said, meaning no harm.
Sasami said, "She was here before me, Aeka, I think she was up all night. She doesn't want to talk now; she said something about having a sore throat. So I made some tea, did you want some?"
Aeka sat down across from Ryoko and smiled as Sasami handed her a teacup. Aeka was curious of Ryoko appearance. It exhausted her just to look at Ryoko. It made her wonder what could have happened to Ryoko that she would force herself awake for so long. "Ryoko..."
Ryoko looked up, surprised to see Aeka in the room. She didn't recall hearing her enter. Ryoko responded but no sound came from her moving lips. She coughed and took another sip of tea before managing to say, "Yes?"
*Aeka: She looks so helpless. The poor thing.*
"Why don't you get some sleep?" Aeka said. Feeling out of character she added, "However am I supposed to properly detest your presence if you're always looking so miserable?"
Ryoko smiled. She wanted to respond, but her voice wouldn't allow it. She and Washu had talked through the night after coming home from Tokimi's meeting. It took a long while but Washu finally convince her daughter that she truly had no control over what happened. She also told Ryoko that deep down she knew what the future held, but as a human amongst mortals using that knowledge for her own personal gain, no matter how necessary it may seem, would rob her of her free will and undo thousands of cycles of work.
Ryoko silently mouthed "Thank you," before floating away.
Suddenly Sasami threw her arms around her sister and hugged her tightly.
"What's the matter Sasami?"
"Thank you... for being nice to Ryoko. I feel so guilty... it helps..."
Aeka was lost as to what to think. "What are you talking about? Why do you feel guilty?"
Sasami went back to the kitchen counter and said, "Why don't you help me with breakfast? It'll be fun!"
Aeka was about to try and find out why she was acting so strangely, but she then thought,
*Aeka: I should leave it alone. Maybe she'll tell me later.*
Together Aeka and Sasami prepared a healthy breakfast for the wave of hungry household members that were sure to rise within the hour. The first ones to come were Nobuyuki and Mihoshi followed shortly be Katsuhito. By the time Tenchi arrived the meal was already underway.
"Good morning everyone," Tenchi said.
"Good morning," echoed back.
"This looks great! You two are getting really good at this," Tenchi said to Aeka and Sasami. He then glanced around and asked, "Where's Ryoko? Is she sleeping in again?"
Mihoshi chimed in through her stuffed face, "Ryoko just went to bed; at least I think so. They were talking in the living room—Washu and Ryoko I mean, when I came home from my late night patrol. I didn't mean to eavesdrop... but..."
Mihoshi was cut off by a shattering dish Sasami dropped on her way to the kitchen sink. They all diverted their attention to her. "Oh... clumsy me... What were you saying, Mihoshi?"
"Was I saying something? Oh right, Washu and Ryoko..."
Tenchi swallowed his last bite and asked, "Yes? Was there something important?"
"Well the thing was..."
Very aware of where this was leading Katsuhito plainly asked, "What was it, Mihoshi?"
"It was soooooooooooo cute to see Washu and Ryoko together like that!!"
Nobuyuki almost choked on his sip of tea, but he managed to control himself. "It's a wonder... I've almost learned to expect it when you do that, Mihoshi."
Mihoshi placed a finger on her chin and quizzed Nobuyuki with a glace, "Do what?"
He smiled and said, "Never mind..."
A beeping noise sounded off, and Mihoshi said, "Oh my gosh! I have to go!" She stood up quickly which cause her to knock over her tea cup. "I'm sorry... I'm so clumsy."
Sasami smiled awkwardly. "It's okay, I'll take care of it for you."
"Oh thank you so much! I really have to go! Today's call is really important!"
She quickly exited the kitchen while stumbling over everything imaginable. When she reached the front door she pressed a button on her watch and a pink cube appeared with a 'pop'. She turned it once and was immediately dressed in her GP uniform. With one final wave she rushed out the door, making sure to trip on the frame.
Four thousand kilometers from Jupiter, a Galaxy Police relay station prepared its platform for Mihoshi's ship. It was Wednesday again, and it was time for her weekly report. However, this time her report was more pressing than usual.
When her ship completed the docking sequence with the relay station, Mihoshi entered her passwords and waited for her superior officer, Nobeyama, to appear.
"Good day Detective Mihoshi, I trust there are no damage reports to make this time?"
"No sir!" Mihoshi chirped.
He choked on the tea he was drinking. "What?"
"There are no damage reports to make. I tried my best to not be clumsy this week!"
Nobeyama stuttered out, "Of course! Keep up the good work. What do you have to report today, instead?"
"Well..."
"Mihoshi, I am noticing you haven't transmitted your report yet. What's the matter?"
Mihoshi glanced both ways, as if worried someone might be listening in. "It's a secret," she whispered.
Nobeyama was bewildered, "What do you mean your report is a secret? Mihoshi stop this foolishness right now!"
Mihoshi fidgeted with her pink cube, "Sir, four years ago you told me to tell you that when I finished my objected I was supposed to say my report was a secret."
Nobeyama blinked as memory of a five-minute conversation from four years ago came back to him. "Oh! Oh, right... THAT report... Give me one second to prepare."
His picture faded and then reappeared. Now the lights in his office were darkened. The screen was black except for a white light that illuminated his face. "Alright Mihoshi, please send your report, and proceed with an aural report."
"Okay!" Mihoshi stood straight and saluted her superior officer. "First Class Detective Mihoshi now reporting on Miss Ryoko and Miss Washu! The objectives given to me were to observe the targets and try to find evidence of possible conspiracies against the galaxy's safety. I have that evidence!"
Nobeyama picked up the pages from her report and began scanning them. "Go on."
"I have found that Miss Ryoko and Miss Washu are not a threat to the galaxy." Mihoshi lowered her salute and sat back down in her chair.
"Detective Mihoshi, you need to explain the evidence you found to support that!"
Mihoshi poked her index fingers together and said, "Well... it's embarrassing."
"Mihoshi you know how this works. If you don't give an aural report, your written report will become liable for falsehoods."
"Well... there's just so much to say!"
Nobeyama noted that her report was still being printed: one hundred fifty two pages and counting. "Dear lord Mihoshi, what did you find out?! You haven't submitted a report this big since... since Kagato!!" Nobeyama threw down the first dozen pages of intro and began reading the deeper parts her report furiously.
"Well ok, if you insist," said Mihoshi. She continued as her commander raked through her report. "It's really simple, actually. Miss Washu is also Lady Washu—you know... the goddess. Well Lady Washu said to Miss Ryoko—or is it Lady Ryoko now? I'm not sure... which do you think be right to say, Miss Ryoko or Lady Ryoko?"
"MIHOSHI IS THIS SOME KIND OF A JOKE?!"
"Oh, gosh no! I think name titles are very important, especially when giving the proper respect to a goddess. Anyway, I'll call her Miss Ryoko for now since she's not a goddess yet. What Lady Washu told Miss Ryoko was that a goddess couldn't lie, even if she wanted to. It's somehow impossible for them to. I couldn't get any more information about it, I'm sorry. If I asked her openly why she couldn't lie I think my mission wouldn't be very secretive anymore."
"—this says that Washu is just like Tsunami!!! And who is this Tokimi you keep mentioning!?! Mihoshi this is all impossible!"
"They're sisters. Please, this is really hard to do so pleeeeeaaaase don't interrupt me. When I found out that Lady Washu can't lie I decided to just walk up to her and ask her if she was going to take over the galaxy. She said 'of course not', and then we laughed about it. It was sooo funny!" Mihoshi giggled at the thought.
Nobeyama was gasping deeply into a paper bag. Seeing that her report was causing him distress, Mihoshi tried to explain herself further. "Okay, now I know it was kind of weird to ask Lady Washu like that. It was really direct, don't you think? But I don't think it—"
"Forget it! I don't care! If even half of these things you write about were true... it would dismantle millions of religions across the galaxy. You've practically defined the meaning of life, and proven it as fact!!" Nobeyama shredded pages concerning Washu and her sisters.
"Hey! That took me a whole fifteen minutes to write! That wasn't very nice." Mihoshi pouted.
"I'm sorry Mihoshi. Even if it were true we cannot let that kind of information out, at least not in our lifetimes."
Puzzled, Mihoshi asked, "But what if someone asks? I just can't lie to them."
"Remember how I told you sometimes we need to pretend certain things never happened? How it's not really lying, it's just pretend."
Mihoshi nodded, "Oh! You mean like how you told me to pretend I never read and memorized classified documents that I accidentally found? Or how I was supposed to pretend I never assassinated that one evil governor man? Or how I was supposed to pretend I never heard you talking naughty to a lady on the phone that wasn't your wife—"
"YES!!! LIKE THOSE TIMES!"
"Oh okay!" Mihoshi saluted the screen once more and said, "I am now officially pretending this talk never happened."
"Excellent. Thank you Mihoshi."
She waved and said, "Okay, bye-bye now!"
His fist slammed down onto the screen. "You're not going anywhere just yet! You still need to verify the other hundred pages you have written here."
Mihoshi normally would have cut him off by now and already be on her way, however her commander had more control due to the circumstances, and he locked her ship in place.
"Hey! I can't move! Let me go, I'm so hungry and lunch will be ready soon."
"No Mihoshi! We have to start over from the beginning, because you haven't given me an aural report yet."
Mihoshi blinked twice and said, "Oh, I get it now! I haven't said anything to you yet. Very clever, sir!"
Nobeyama sigh deeply, trying to give his patience more life. "Okay Mihoshi, do you have any evidence at all to verify Washu and Ryoko are not conspiring in the same fashion as Kagato?"
Mihoshi blushed and looked away, "Well... it's embarrassing."
"Yes, we already got past this part. But you have to say it. And no shortcuts this time!"
She gulped and said, "Alright, but you have to promise not to tell anyone, because it's private. We'll the best evidence I have to give is that... Lady Washu- er, I mean Miss Washu is Miss Ryoko's Mother."
Nobeyama scratched his chin, "Well, we already knew this... sort of. We know that Washu created Ryoko, and if you wanted to stretch it you might be able to say she was her mother."
Mihoshi stood and shook her head. "No, no, no! You don't understand! I mean she really is her Mom! She does Mom stuff! Please don't make me say any more out loud! It's too embarrassing."
Nobeyama laughed out loud, "Come now Mihoshi, Ryoko is the most destructive weapon in the galaxy save for Yosho who defeated her. Everyone knows she's just a weapon."
Mihoshi started to cry. "That's not true! She's very nice to me and everyone else and she would never hurt anyone on purpose unless they were evil and she even cleans the toilet sometimes and she always shares her sake and she really, really likes Tenchi and—"
"Mihoshi! Please restrain yourself! You're still missing the point; I need evidence for the things you said."
She crossed her arms tight and plopped back into her seat. "I won't say it. I refuse to! It would be rude to Miss Washu and Miss Ryoko."
Nobeyama was in a difficult position. He needed an aural verification not simply because it was protocol, but because he knew there was an audience of state of the art lie detecting computers. "Mihoshi... please work with me here. If what you say is true about Ryoko and Washu, then wouldn't you want to prove it to everyone?"
Mihoshi said nothing.
Nobeyama scratched his forehead. "Okay, look. How about I read some of this report to myself. And then I'll ask some questions, alright?"
She glared at him as mean as her face would allow, "If only you don't ask embarrassing questions!"
"I'll do my best..."
Nobeyama began reading and silence took over the ship's cockpit. A few moments passed and Nobeyama said, "Mihoshi... um... can you explain... uh..."
"Yes?"
"Wait, never mind. I'll just keep going."
Mihoshi stomach grumbled and she said, "Er, Okay..."
An hour passed as Nobeyama read what her report from front to back, as well as re-reading certain parts several times over. When he finally raised his eyes off the page to look into the view screen, Mihoshi was passed out with hundreds of potato chip bags crumpled up around her.
Nobeyama cleared his throat loudly, but she didn't stir. "Mihoshi!"
She snapped to full attention. "I'm up! I wasn't sleeping! I swear!"
"Never mind that. I want to ask you some questions about this report. I'll try to keep it simple."
"Alright..."
"In the beginning you talk about how she... um... loves this man named Tenchi. Is he the same Tenchi Masaki who defeated Kagato several years ago?"
"Yup!"
"Can you tell me about how she... she um..."
Mihoshi tilted her head, "She what?"
"About how she has feelings for him."
"Well, I don't know... Tenchi is a really nice guy. I mean, he's really nice to me too, and a long time ago I used to have a little crush on him. He IS very nice, after all."
"Anything else?"
She placed a finger on her chin and said, "We'll I think a long time ago, before that evil Kagato came, I over heard Miss Ryoko talking to Miss Aeka about seeing Tenchi when he was still a kid. She said that... well, didn't you read this part already? I'm sure I wrote it."
"Yes you did. Thank you, I just needed to confirm it. You've said enough. Now I'd like to ask about Miss Aeka and, uh... Miss Ryoko. How do you explain their fighting? They've come close to leveling mountainsides just because one steals a cookie from the other."
Mihoshi giggled, "Oh that's just them playing. They act all grouchy and mean but they never hurt each other, in fact they've saved each other's life many times! The problem is that Miss Aeka likes Tenchi too, so are like rivals."
Nobeyama nodded. "I see. It also looks like you have some of your opinions here as well. Care to explain?"
Mihoshi blushed. "Well, it's nothing really. It's just some things I've noticed... that's all. You see Tenchi is super shy, and he never tells either Miss Aeka or Miss Ryoko how he feels about them. You understand how that can feel, right? I mean... you have your wife and that nice lady on the phone that you like. Did you ever show them that you like them and they give no answer?"
With a stiff smile he said, "Yes Mihoshi, I know what that's like, now get to the point."
"It's just that Miss Ryoko and Miss Aeka have been showing Tenchi affection for four years! And he hasn't said anything to them about his feelings!! That gets really frustrating, and it makes a person want to give up chasing them. That's why I don't have a crush on Tenchi anymore. He's too shy for me. I'd like him if he acted like his dad more, but that's just me.
"But the crazy thing is both Ryoko and Aeka refuse to be turned away. I know they both care about him SO much, but they're people too, and they probably have their feelings hurt all the time because of how shy he is. So I really couldn't figure out why they stuck around."
Nobeyama sighed and said, "Yes, yes, but please try and tie all of this in with why Ryoko is not a threat."
Mihoshi stuck out her tongue. "Alright Mr. 'I-want-to-skip-all-the-important-details'. The reason Ryoko doesn't want to take over the galaxy is because I think her and Aeka are actually really good friends, and friends just don't try and destroy your Government. That just wouldn't be very nice! Of course that's just what I think, though..."
"You just finished saying how much they hated each other!"
She held up her hand for silence, "Let me finish, silly. When Miss Ryoko and Miss Aeka get really depressed from being ignored so much they usually end up drunk and sympathizing with each other's pain. Then somehow one of them will say something wrong... a fight will break out... their rivalry will be refreshed... and the next day they'll be once again inspired to chase after Tenchi to their fullest."
A moment passed and he said, "That's it?"
"Yup."
"Why did you write this in the report? It has absolutely nothing to do with Ryoko's moral grade!"
Mihoshi scratched her head. "I'm not sure, sir. I wrote that down because I thought... I thought it might be more convincing if you knew that Ryoko was in love, and she had a good friend, and that her mom is really nice. All at the same time, too! I don't know anything fancy about moral 'whatever-you-said', but I do know that I wouldn't throw that away just to be super powerful!"
Nobeyama was silenced. Suddenly Mihoshi's endless rambling fit together into a single solid argument for Ryoko's benefit. "So... Ryoko has personal interests in persons that would directly oppose any actions against the galaxy's safety. Wow... Mihoshi, that's... intelligent."
She giggled and said, "You're just saying that!"
He cleared his throat and refocused himself. "Now Mihoshi, although that is a somewhat convincing argument we have to remember that Kagato was a trusted and respected man at the Science Academy before he became a pirate."
"Oh, was he? Oh my, that changes everything, doesn't it..."
"Good lord..."
Mihoshi frowned. "I'm sorry. I'm just trying to avoid talking about the embarrassing stuff."
Nobeyama lightly nodded. "I know, Mihoshi. I read your whole report. It is... embarrassing."
Mihoshi again poked her index fingers together. "Kagato was such a mean person. And poor Miss Ryoko... she was only a little kid. Please, please, please don't make me say that part out loud."
"Well... can you try and generalize?"
Mihoshi looked confused yet again, "Generalize? You mean like telling the story how a general would? I don't see how that could help..."
"Oh forget it. Listen, I'll take this to my superior officer whom I report to and ask him if an exception can be made this one time. Considering the contents of this report, and how you're information is always one hundred percent accurate, there's a very small chance he'll be able to look past this."
Mihoshi clasped her hands together. "Oh wow! Can you really do that?"
"I'll try. But if he refuses I'll have to have that aural report from you. So in the mean time I would suggest you find out what it means to generalize a story."
Mihoshi stood and saluted one last time. "Will do, sir! I'll start working on impersonating a general right away!"
"Mihoshi... before you do that please get a dictionary and look up the word generalize."
"Yes sir!"
"That is all. You are dismissed."
The screen with Nobeyama vanished and Mihoshi sat back into her chair. Relieved that her hardest mission to date had finally been complete, Mihoshi detached her ship from the relay station and she headed back to Earth.
Several hours earlier, just after Mihoshi made her leave, breakfast continued like ordinary.
Nobuyuki spoke up, "Oh Tenchi, I just remembered, your old school friend Amagasaki called you last night. Maybe you should call him back, eh?"
Tenchi almost laughed, "That screwball? I haven't seen him in years. That sounds like a good idea. Only... I don't think I remember his phone number."
Nobuyuki wiped his hands and prepared to excuse himself from the table. "He left a number, but it's in my office. Come on I'll show you."
Tenchi left with Nobuyuki, and they climbed the stairs to the third floor. However, when Nobuyuki reached his office door, he realized Tenchi was no longer behind him. Looking back he saw Tenchi's head poking around the stairway corner. Nobuyuki said, "Tenchi! What are you doing, boy? Come over here!"
Tenchi raved, "SHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
"What's wrong with you?" Nobuyuki started his way towards Tenchi but stopped when he saw what troubled him. Ryoko lay across one of the oversized carrot pillows near the windows. She was fast asleep.
Tenchi whispered to him as loud as he could, "She'll wake up! She always does. Can you bring me the number instead? I'll call downstairs."
Nobuyuki adjusted his glasses and said, "Tenchi, my foolish son..." He walked over to Tenchi and clenched a death grip onto his ear. Nobuyuki dragged him over to Ryoko and he struggled to suppress a squeal of agony.
"What are you doing?! Are you insane?"
"I regret not teaching you this sooner, if I had known you could not learn this on your own I would have done this long ago. You are afraid of Ryoko and it's time to be a man!"
"You're out of your mind—"
Nobuyuki brought his fist down upon his son's head. "Shut up and listen. Look at Ryoko, Tenchi. Is she not one of the most beautiful women you have ever met?"
Tenchi swallowed the rock in his throat and gave Ryoko a full glance. Her legs were pulled in where her hands rested on her knees. From this angle her curves never seemed so perfect. Her night gown was simple and modest, but the folds in the cloth betrayed her lines for all to see. There was no part of her body where Tenchi could divert his eyes to escape overwhelming rapture. Even her hands, as honest as they were, appeared far too magnificent for someone such as himself to behold. When his gaze finally reached her face he tore his view away to protect her celestial beauty from his selfish gawking.
Tenchi slowly looked back to his father and said, "She's... beautiful..."
Nobuyuki placed his hand on his shoulder and said, "Then why are you so afraid of her? You treat her like a disgusting hag whenever she approaches you."
"It's not like that!" Tenchi hissed, "I am ashamed of myself. She's a good person, but the reactions I feel when she gets too close disrespect her. She deserves someone who will value her for who she is."
"Is that not you, Tenchi? All of the women in this house are good people who are beautiful, but to you Ryoko is the most beautiful. Why hide your feelings from her?"
"Wait a second now. I never said anything about choosing one over the other," said Tenchi.
Nobuyuki twisted Tenchi's arm and he whimpered in pain. "You can't fool your old man, boy. My many years of wisdom have shown me who you've really cared about this whole time."
"Ouch, ouch! How did you figure it out?!"
A stubby grin crossed Nobuyuki's face. "Simple! The first week Ryoko came to our house you stole my Polaroid camera and took pictures of her in the bath, they were so easy to find I stumbled across them in your room on accident. But things became clearer when the trash in your room started overflowing with wads of used tissues. Really Tenchi, I'm ashamed as a father that you could think of a more discreet way to jerk off."
Tenchi's head dropped and streams of self pity gushed from his eyes. "Why me?"
Nobuyuki spun Tenchi around and stood him upright. "There is no shame in finding a woman beautiful. If you had lusted after her like a fool in the first week she was here you would have found yourself at the end of my fists. Now there are all these other women here but you still whack off to pictures of Ryoko. Remember that stupid old saying 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'? It still has meaning."
Nobuyuki slapped Tenchi hard on the back. "You see, my boy? Men are too stupid to make a sophisticated decision about who we love. We have to act on instinct. Women are far too smart for us to keep up. If you asked Ryoko why she loves you she would explain with rational reasons. But all we can see is a beautiful woman."
Tenchi sighed and said, "You sound like a romantic pervert..."
Before he could say more Ryoko shifted and blinked her eyes open. "Tenchi...?"
Tenchi spine went rigid and he looked to his father for help. Tenchi saw him hiding behind the corner flashing a thumbs-up as he snuck down the stairs. Tenchi silently cursed the old man with the foulest words he knew.
Ryoko giggled quietly, still straining to speak. "Usually I'm the one watching you sleep."
An awkward grin took him and he said, "Uh... yeah... just passing by really. You should get some more sleep. I heard from Mihoshi that you had a long day yesterday."
Ryoko smiled. "That's odd, first Aeka and now you. Everyone is being so nice to me today."
Tenchi's grin faded and he watched her fall back to sleep. He looked over her again but this time not so timidly. It didn't occur to Tenchi that he was staring until the foot he was leaning on fell asleep. He silently made his leave.
Back in the kitchen Sasami saw Tenchi rush out the front door. "Oh he forgot his lunch. I'll go take it to him."
"Alright Sasami," Aeka replied.
She was the only one left from this morning's meal, since Katsuhito was off to the shrine, Nobuyuki to work, and Mihoshi in space. Soon Washu stumbled into the kitchen looking for something to quiet her hammering stomach.
"Good morning Washu. Is there something I can get for you? You must be tired after talking so long with Ryoko last night," said Aeka, looking to start up some dialogue.
"Wha—?"
"Mihoshi told us you two had a heartwarming chat. If it isn't too personal I wouldn't mind knowing what you talked about." Aeka said with a giggle.
Washu's eyebrow twitched. "The rate news spreads in this house would put an ansible* to shame." Washu shrugged, figuring it was harmless.
Aeka hastily prepared a quick meal for Washu and placed it before her. "So what did you two talk about? If it was gossip do tell!"
Washu laughed and said, "No, no... It wasn't anything like that. I'm afraid it's something a little too personal to share right now."
Aeka walked back to the kitchen sink. "I see..." She then thought,
*Aeka: Hopefully she was trying to talk sense into that monster she calls her daughter.*
She brushed the thought away feeling it was inappropriate at the time. But again she thought,
*Aeka: It would be a relief to know that at least someone is checking Ryoko's behavior.*
Aeka couldn't help but to say, "Perhaps Ryoko will finally learn some manners from your example. That would certainly raise a burden on us all."
Restrained, Washu said, "You shouldn't say such things."
Aeka poured herself a cup of tea and sat across of Washu. "I've always wanted to ask you something, Washu. Why do you let her rampage the way she does? Doesn't it bother you to see her act so shamefully?"
"It makes her happy. I only want her to be happy." Not feeling so hungry anymore, Washu stood and took her plate to the sink.
"But it's at other's expense! She won't stop teasing Tenchi and all she does is loaf about the house like some sort of freeloader."
Washu smiled bitterly, "Aeka... if only you could hear yourself. Those are simple pleasures and they make her happy. You say her most grievous crime is teasing Tenchi? Then let it be so, she is only a child. I encourage her to—"
"What?" Aeka stood in shock. Fighting to keep her voice down, Aeka said, "You encourage her? Ryoko is not some harmless child. I shouldn't have to remind you of how she helped Kagato pillage the galaxy. And considering the kind of pervert that man was I think it's obvious that he left his mark on her. Since she parades about the house like some kind of... like some kind of whore!"
"Aeka!" Washu's glare cut across the room.
Aeka was just as shocked as Washu. "... I'm sorry. I don't know what possessed me to say that. I'm so ashamed..."
Washu raised an eyebrow and thought,
*Washu: Are you making her
say these things, Tokimi?*
*Tokimi: She would have said this to you tomorrow on her own, after a fight with Ryoko. But that would have been too late. I am simply speeding up her maturation, which is my job if you don't remember.*
*Washu: I wonder what Tsunami will say about you maturing her people for her.*
*Tokimi: She is too absorbed with Tenchi to care right now.*
*Washu: I know what you're trying to make me do. You want me to frighten her. And what if I chose not to?*
*Tokimi: You are far too arrogant with your gift of a physical body. You would deprive yourself of free will before you left the room. Act accordingly, mortal, or suffer like Kagato did.*
*Washu: You're good at scaring children, you ought to break that habit one day.*
Aeka sat back down and took another sip of tea. "I suppose it wouldn't be her fault entirely. But wouldn't her condition be all the more reason for your strict intervention? Without proper guidance she may come to think how she acts is acceptable behavior."
Washu strained to place herself back into the moment and remember that she was supposed to be angry with Aeka not Tokimi. After all, they were Aeka's words and thoughts, and they would have come out on their own eventually.
She said, "Aeka... I think her behavior is quite acceptable."
"What? Acceptable? That's absurd." cried Aeka.
Washu turned her back to Aeka and tried to busy herself with dirty dishes. "Please, Aeka, don't talk about this anymore."
"I am going to talk about it! It's important to me. There are rare moments when Ryoko isn't acting like a brat where I can actually see myself enjoying her company. It would seem like such a waste if she acted like a beast for the rest of her life."
Washu rubbed her temples. "Aeka, if that's what you're after then go talk to her about it. She's a lot more reasonable then you give her credit for."
"She doesn't listen to me! She never has, I'm surprised you didn't notice already. I never thought it was my place to try to civilize her. That job is usually reserved for her mother, but you don't seem to care about her."
Washu shut her eye and covered them with her hand. She refused to let Aeka make her cry. She knew they were words spoken out of ignorance, and her pride held her together. "Aeka, you have no idea what you're talking about. You couldn't possibly understand what it's like to be her mother."
With wide eyes Aeka said, "Is that it then? Is that the reason for you lack of involvement? Ryoko may be daunting at times but it's no reason to give up on her!"
Washu spun to face Aeka, "Give up on her? Like the way your people did? Like how Yosho was ordered to lock her in a cave? After he took her gems she stopped attacking, only because she had no idea who Yosho was and why she was fighting him. From her perspective she woke up from a deep sleep and found herself being imprisoned for destroying a planet she had never heard of."
Startled, Aeka said, "... I .. well—"
Washu carried on. "He had every intention of returning to Jurai but he pitied Ryoko. The farmers wanted revenge for their destroyed crops and they all sought personal vengeance on Ryoko. Yosho chased most of them away, but a few slipped by. They used her until their bodies gave out, leaving them weak enough for Yosho to make an example of in the nearby village. After that he was too embarrassed to return to Jurai."
*Tokimi: Bravo! Encore!*
Disturbed, Aeka quietly asked, "W-what? ... U-Used her? She was alive in the cave?"
"Of course! She doesn't need supplements to sustain herself. I would never allow her such an imperfection in my own daughter. Her prison trapped her by growing tree roots through her body, but it certainly didn't kill her. She was frozen in place, and over a period of seven hundred years her muscles deteriorated from lack of use. That's why she looked dead when Tenchi found her.
"Part of the reason she hates me so much is because I made her strong enough to survive things that would kill anyone else. Even in the winter when the cave was cold enough freeze her solid she still didn't die. During those years I would have given anything to let her die... I would have killed her myself if it were possible."
Aeka covered her hand over her mouth.
Washu turned back to the dirty dishes. "Lord... listen to me carry on about my problems like some senile hag. This is why no one knows about it, because it sounds like I'm only after your pity if I speak it out loud. Ryoko hates it when people think of her life as a sob story."
"Washu... I'm so sor—"
"No! I'm sorry if I sounded like I was blaming you, I was only angry. Don't apologize, you haven't done anything wrong. You wanted to know why I don't scold her, we'll I'm telling you. If I did it would only push her further away."
Aeka's normal stubbornness was waved, and she said, "I didn't know... At least let me apologize for speaking out of line."
"No Aeka. You have legitimate complaints. She can be a real hell raiser, and she does it on purpose. I keep making excuses for her and I never let her take responsibility for herself. I shouldn't have put that on you."
Aeka quietly sat back down. After a moment she said, "Is that what you were talking about last night?"
Washu sighed. Too tired to dodge her question she said, "Yes, that's one of the things we talked about. She blames me for a lot of her suffering. I don't mind, because some of it is my fault."
Aeka said, "I understand why you didn't want to talk about this..." She suddenly realized the folly she pointed out. "... Oh, Washu I'm so sorry. You said you didn't want to talk but I forced you to. Can't you let me apologize for that?"
Washu sighed and said, "Alright, apology accepted." After a pause she added, "It's strange though, I'm surprised you're the one talking to me about this, and not Tenchi."
"Why do you say that?"
Washu faced Aeka and leaned against the counter. "Without all those nasty side comments you pretty much said to me, 'make Ryoko play nice, I want to be her friend.'"
Aeka laughed, "How in Lord's name did you derive such a statement? And what makes you think Tenchi would have been interested in her like that?"
Not wanting to engage her in such a volatile subject, Washu said, "Okay, okay! I recall that last statement. You never heard me say it. Still, it may be a hell of a stretch, but you might say your interest is... touching."
Aeka crossed her arms and turned her head. "Now you're just teasing me."
Washu laughed and wiped her hands dry. "Where do you think Ryoko gets it from? She learns from the best, of course."
"Oh you're terrible! Right after you made me feel so bad for her, too!"
"Alright, alright, I'll stop." On her way out she said, "Thanks for the breakfast."
Aeka thought this curious, since Washu never ate her food. "Uh, my pleasure." When she was gone Aeka shook her head. She gathered the remaining plates and took them to the sink. She started thinking about what Washu said. Aeka knew that Kagato was an awful man, and that the cave must have been unbearable, but she never carried her thoughts any deeper than that. It never occurred to her that the details made any kind of difference.
Aeka left the kitchen sink and went to the living room, promising herself that she'd finish the dishes later. She didn't want to start on a different chore, nor did she want to relax a moment in front of the TV. Undecided, she sat down on the couch. The things Washu told her were distracting her so much that she couldn't focus on anything else. The words repeated over and over in her mind, sounding more disturbed each time. Without realizing it, she quietly spoke, "They used her..."
While all of this transpired Sasami was bringing Tenchi his lunch. Once she caught up with him she saw no harm in tagging along.
"Gonna' plant more carrots, Tenchi?" she asked.
"Actually I think I'm all done with carrots for now. I was going to plant other things... the things we used to eat before Ryo-Ohki arrived, that is." When he realized how far she was following, he asked, "Were you planning on coming along?"
Sasami looked behind her back at the house. "Yeah, I don't think I should go inside right now."
"Uh... alright."
*Tenchi: I forgot to call Amagasaki.*
"Oh man, I forgot about something. Sasami, can you wait right here for me?"
Sasami smiled and said, "Sure!"
Tenchi dashed back to the house and into the main room. Once he made it to the third floor he stepped lightly past Ryoko and into Nobuyuki's office. The paper with Amagasaki's phone number didn't take long to find. It was on the top of a stack of papers near the phone. Tenchi dialed the number and listened for and answer.
"Hello?" spoke a familiar voice.
"Amagasaki? It's me, Tenchi!"
"Tenchi! It's good to hear from you. I've been meaning to call you for a while."
"Oh yeah? What's going on?"
Tenchi winced at his friend's gaudy laugh. "Something you wont believe happened to me. I can't explain over the phone, you'll have to see it for yourself. How soon can you come by?"
"Tomorrow, I guess. Where should I meet you?"
"You remember that arcade we sometimes went to in Okayama?"
"Yeah"
"Be there by noon tomorrow. What I have in store for you..." said Amagasaki before erupting into laughter again.
"I'll just have to wait and see. Bye."
"Seeya!"
Tenchi set down the phone
and sighed. "What could that bonehead have that's so interesting?" Tenchi
shrugged it off and he reached for the door.
As he exited, he noticed an unmade futon nudged into the far corner of the office. Curiosity forced him to see why a bed was in such a strange place. In the knotted sheets Tenchi found a small book with doodles on the cover. It was unmistakably Mihoshi's pad, and inside it looked like it was some kind of journal.
Tenchi endeavored to put the pad back exactly the way he found it, adjusting the sheets to look undisturbed. He didn't fret over it too much. Mihoshi wasn't the kind of person to become defensive about that sort of thing. However it was clear that Mihoshi used this space as her room, and Tenchi's inherent curiosity kept him from leaving uninformed.
"Besides," he said to convince himself, "it's not like dad doesn't invade my privacy all the time."
He went back to his father's desk and tried to find something significant, but of course, it was mostly supplies for drawing architect designs. A stack of books caught Tenchi's eye and he noticed one was out of place amongst the other design books. It was glossy black with no title to be seen, it also appeared to have been opened recently.
There was a ribbon in the middle and Tenchi flipped to that page. It had yesterday's date marked at the top and a several paragraphs followed.
"That stupid old man keeps a journal too?"
Shocked at his father's sudden depth in character, Tenchi considered hard if it was worth it to steal something so personal as the private thoughts of a journal entry. When he remembered how Nobuyuki had destroyed his pride earlier that morning, he started reading.
April 14th, 1996
I must start today's entry with a note of guilt. Even though I tried to design this new home with as much space possible, Mihoshi is still without a room of her own. She sleeps in my office every night that she is here and it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the fact that I am a man. My dear dear Kiyone, if you can hear me in heaven know that I still love you with every thread of my heart. Please forgive me for taking an interest in this woman. It is only because I am still in a physical body here on Earth that my thoughts stray from you! If I could I would join you in heaven, but I must finish my work here first.
Sometimes when I am working she will change clothes without warning. After the third time I asked her why she unnecessarily exposed herself for me. (I regret that it wasn't after the first time) What she said was just as funny as it was humiliating. She said she was doing it because she knew I liked to peep at girls, and it was the least she could do for me for letting her stay here. I tried my best to explain the peeping thing was just a game I played, and that I wasn't actually such a dirty man. I think she understood, but she did not stop!
In fact it became worse. She began offering sexual favors for letting her stay! I am becoming old now and I do not love this woman, I could not allow her to make a commodity of herself. I tried my best to explain this to her, but I am not sure how much she understood; her mind can be a bit aloof at times. I told her if she really felt the need to assist me, she could donate any amount of money whenever she could spare it. Thankfully she agreed.
This whole incident has made me more aware of our son's foolishness, Kiyone. In my case I did not love Mihoshi, but I know he loves Ryoko. I know you always used to say a woman should be valued by her skills in the world and not her skills with the men, and so you probably would not approve of Ryoko. But I would like to argue that she has begun her childhood as an adult, and that she only wants to play in the best way she knows how. If only Tenchi would realize that there would be no harm in indulging her. It would not be a lie of how he felt for her either. I have done as you wished and raised him to value a woman with an intelligent mind, but you must understand the exception that must be made here. But before he could do that he would have to tell poor Aeka the truth, and that is a task no man is brave enough to undertake.
Tenchi placed the ribbon back into the book and slowly put it back into the stack. Twice in the same morning Nobuyuki has harassed his son about his love life when just yesterday he had not spoken a word of it. He found it coincidental that the entry he read coincided with his earlier lecture so well. But he brushed the thought away.
He left the office and went to the head of the stairs. Before he reached them he stopped to look at Ryoko again. Without realizing it he found himself kneeling beside her. His father's words echoed in his mind and he wondered why he always pushed Ryoko away.
He leaned in closer to see her clearly. He came so close that if Ryoko were awake she would feel his breath across her neck. Her smell felt soft on his nose and his absorbed as much as he could. He had never seen her face at this proximity and the familiar image looked new, as if he were just now seeing her for the first time. Unfortunately, he was bound to only one side, since she rested her head against the pillow.
He silenced his body and enjoyed the sound of her breathing. He decided that he could not leave her until he saw the other side of her face. His hand lifted on its own and steadily approached her chin. The very tips of his fingers made contact with her skin. So many times had Ryoko touched him skin to skin, but this was different. This one square centimeter of touching was initiated by Tenchi to an unknowing Ryoko, and because of that the sensation was superior.
Using perspiration as his vehicle, Tenchi slid his fingers further up her cheek. He monitored her breathing relentlessly for signs of awakening. Tenchi slowly lifted his hand and turned Ryoko's face to his. When she came into full view he couldn't help but clasp her cheek in his hand. Even though he had promised himself to leave once capturing her entire face, he could not pull himself away.
His hand sheepishly drifted down her neck and rested on her collar bone. Her gown was loose about her and her breasts appeared as an obtainable destination. Once he adjusted his angle to see he faltered for a moment and though whether or not he should even be going this far without Ryoko's consent. He knew that if she were awake she would be inviting him, but right now she lay unaware. Tenchi might even go as far to think that she was vulnerable to him. His hand trembled as a result of conflicting thoughts. Suddenly above all other thoughts one range out the loudest.
*Tenchi: Sasami's been waiting for me this entire time! She'll start to wonder if I don't go now.*
He lifted himself from her, making sure not to put pressure onto her as he left. He tip toed down the stairs and started his way towards the door. Noticing Aeka sitting on the couch unmoving, he stopped to investigate.
He stood in front of Aeka but she didn't notice him. "Aeka."
There was no response. Her eyes were planted onto the floor, so he knelt to see her. She looked as if something was upsetting her. He said, "Aeka?" and touched her shoulder.
Aeka jumped. "Oh! Tenchi, you startled me."
"Are you all right?"
"Uh... yes, I'm fine thank you. I was just a little lost in thought."
Tenchi asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"
Aeka diverted her eyes and said, "I'm not feeling well, but I'll be alright." She stood and walked past him.
Tenchi watched her disappear back into the kitchen. He wanted to try and remember to talk to her about this later on, but for now Sasami was waiting. "Al-alright! I'll be going then!"
He left without her saying goodbye. He ran back to where he left Sasami and found her sitting under a nearby tree.
"There you are Tenchi! Did you talk to you friend?"
Tenchi said, "Yeah... there was a lot to catch up on."
"Ok, I understand. So you want to go to the garden now?" cheered Sasami. She stuck out her hand and Tenchi took it to lead the way.
After several hours of work Tenchi and Sasami sat down for a well deserved break. The plot of land they worked on together was finished and ready to be planted. Tenchi looked forward to Sasami's lunch, but unfortunately for him, his grandfather was shouting his name before he could take his first bite.
"Tenchi! I told you to never eat before practice."
"But grandfather, practice isn't for another two hours."
Katsuhito smirked, "A normal routine is a dangerous thing. When the unexpected happens you will be the least prepared. Now come."
Tenchi shook his head. "Sorry Sasami, I hope this food won't go to waste."
"It's okay Tenchi! I'm sure Washu and Ryoko are hungry. They did miss breakfast after all."
"Yeah, that's right. I'll see you tonight Sasami," said Tenchi as he headed for the shrine.
"Bye Tenchi! Good luck!"
The first part of practice was the shrine steps. Of course his grandfather made him run up the steps, but Katsuhito couldn't allow him to slack at the top while he climbed the steps himself. To remedy this, Tenchi had to run up and down the shrine steps until his grandfather reached the top.
On his third way down, when Tenchi passed his grandfather he gasped, "You're going slow on purpose!"
"Watch your step," Katsuhito tried to warn Tenchi, but he was already stumbling before Katsuhito finish his sentence.
He grabbed Tenchi by the arm before falling too far and pulled him to his feet. "That's enough for today. We're almost to the top anyway."
When they reached the top Katsuhito lead Tenchi behind the shrine and handed him his practice sword. Tenchi asked, "Grandfather, don't we usually go into the hills? There isn't much room—"
"Silence. You needn't ask why when you'll soon find out. Start your warm ups... And check your form this time. I'll be watching."
Tenchi began with the basic forms of Juraian swordplay. To his surprise his grandfather wasn't shouting out crude mistakes. He thought he must have been doing them right for once. Only ten minutes into his warm-ups, Katsuhito said, "Alright, that's enough. Come and rest over here."
"But grandfather..."
"Tenchi!"
Tenchi ran to the shrine's back porch, where his grandfather was sitting. Katsuhito said, "Tenchi, there is something I have to tell you."
Tenchi waited silently for his grandfather to continue. His expression was just as unreadable as it ever, but the way he spoke worried Tenchi. "What is it, grandfather?"
"The police were here last week, Tenchi. They met with me privately so no one knows except for Nobuyuki and me."
Katsuhito paused again, giving Tenchi the impression that what he needed to say was very difficult. "Grandfather, why were the police here?"
Katsuhito looked at him directly and said, "Tenchi, they were investigating suspicion of a brothel."
Tenchi closed his eyes.
"Tenchi, what I'm saying is—"
"I know what a brothel is," he said through his teeth.
He stood and paced from the porch as if injured. He remembered the first time learned about it. It was several years before he released Ryoko. One of the boys at school was throwing the word around like a trump card, as if his knowledge of sex terms made him superior. He said to Tenchi, 'My dad told me all about brothels! All you have to do is pay them some money and they'll give you a girl that will do anything you say.'
Tenchi's knuckles turn white as he tried to contain himself. "How could they? How... dare them!"
Katsuhito removed his glasses and began cleaning them, "Tenchi, the women who live here are no secret anymore. Several visitors to the shrine even know them by name."
"So what?! That's no reason to think that they're...! That I...!"
"Tenchi, you have to understand what this looks like from the investigator's perspective. A house suddenly appears near a shrine in the deep countryside. Then four women and a little girl become residents at the house with three men. They are four women with no apparent jobs of their own, known to many as just visitors to our home."
"But they do have jobs and careers! Well..."
"Nothing the general public could know about. They also could never know our family relation. From their perspective they see four independent women living with three men. Not to mention it's in a house that's within walking distance to an obscure shrine far from civilization. No one would be suspicious of a man traveling alone to the shrine. Tenchi, it's been four years. After four years our home and its company become vulnerable to assumptions like that."
Tenchi starred at the ground, but he couldn't see it. His eyes lost all focus. In his mind, Tenchi heard, 'And there's usually one guy who owns them all. He keeps all the money and he can do any of them whenever he wants to.'
Tenchi roared, "I still can't forgive an insult like that! To think that... just to think! Didn't you say that some visitors know the girls? Isn't it obvious enough that they're not like that... that I would never impose something like that?"
Katsuhito looked at Tenchi shaking with anger and sighed. "Tenchi, you know how Aeka and Ryoko act around you. Aeka is always at your arm, even if we know that her interest is her own, you have to imagine what that looks like. As for Ryoko... Ryoko is the kind of woman who is very easily misinterpreted."
"Grandfather, how could you even suggest—!?"
"Try to be rational. We know that if any man other than you so much as touched Ryoko's shoulder she would break both his arms. But even the regular visitors couldn't know that unless they saw it happen. Realize that when Aeka and Ryoko are at your side and being civil with one another, it is very easy to get the wrong impression."
"I can't believe your saying this! I'm not like that! They're not like that! You're no better than the damn police!"
"Tenchi, you stupid boy! Don't be so blind!" Katsuhito stood to level his eyes with Tenchi's. "Of course I know that isn't true, but others don't. I understand Aeka and Ryoko, I have known them much longer than you realize. Never question my respect for either of them!"
Tenchi tried to relax and rationalize himself as his grandfather said to, but it simply couldn't be done. He heart was beating its way out of his chest while the boy from school continued to taunt him. 'To him, they're nothing but property.'
"But... I'm not like that!!"
'He keeps them like their animals...'
"I don't force them to stay!!"
'... It's like they're not even real people, so it's okay to use them.'
"How could they say that? How could they think that?!"
Tenchi realized he was still holding his practice sword and with one final cry of outrage he struck the ground and the wood shattered as if it were glass.
Katsuhito grasped Tenchi's shoulders and shook him furiously. "Tenchi!! You have to calm down! This raging will get you nothing!"
Tenchi was nearly hyperventilating. His mind was numb, but one thought pushed through the static,
*Tenchi: Later that day an older student beat the shit out of that kid for what he said.*
His muscles relaxed and his body turned into jelly. Katsuhito was prepared to catch him but Tenchi stood on his own. "I'm sorry grandfather... I lost my mind."
"It's alright Tenchi; you have every reason to be upset."
Tenchi wanted to say more, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. "Grandfather I... uh... I...."
"What is it, Tenchi?"
"... Never mind it's nothing."
Katsuhito firmly gripped Tenchi's shoulders and looked at him directly. "Tenchi, why are you taking this insult so personally?"
Tenchi dropped his head and said, "I don't know."
"I never expected you to react like this. I only told you because I felt it was something you should have been aware of, but If I had known you wouldn't be able to handle it I wouldn't have told you."
Tenchi stepped past Katsuhito and sat down on the porch. A moment later Katsuhito slowly made his way back to the porch and sat next to him.
"Grandfather, sometimes Ryoko... frightens me."
"What do you mean?"
"What I should say is... I feel scared for her. With as much as she loves me, she'll do anything to make me happy. I... really think she would do almost anything for me, if I asked her enough. I don't like having that kind of responsibility over someone. She would let herself get hurt if she thought it pleased me... and she would act as if nothing were wrong."
Katsuhito said, "How could you be so sure of something like this?"
"It's so many little things over the years. Countless times she's snuck into my bed while I'm sleeping and I would wake up with her on top of me. She would always be in the nude, too. She would tell me I could have her... and it would be okay if I liked strange things, like the things in a dirty magazine. She said she would let me do anything to her, and that she was mine. It disturbs me when I hear her say those things. She's such a good person, but she's trying so hard to sabotage her own well being. She keeps making herself more and more vulnerable to me. It's reached a point where every day I find myself in a position where I can easily... take advantage of her."
Yosho sighed deeply. "Ryoko does act self destructive, and she's put you in a position where could easily destroy her as a human being. I know you would never do such a thing, but I understand how hard it is to be in that position. Not only must you protect her from others, but you must protect her from yourself, and even protect her from herself."
"I'm worried about me more than anything else."
Katsuhito rested his hand on Tenchi's shoulder. "You'll be fine. In either case I think you should talk to her, and make sure you tell her how she's worrying you."
"Yeah... I should."
Tenchi thought of how it was odd that his grandfather was giving him advice about Ryoko. It never occurred to Tenchi that he knew her on a personal level, and he thought to ask, "Grandfather, how do you know Ryoko? I mean... besides your fight with her."
Katsuhito was silent for a moment. When Tenchi looked to see if he would answer he said, "Ryoko... Ryoko is the one person in this galaxy whom I will be indebted to for the rest of my life. After she was defeated, I witnessed the same thing you saw the day Kagato attacked... she became someone else."
"... You mean the mind control, right?"
"Yes. My Tree analyzed her during our battle, it found that her mind was inactive, as if she were asleep. It concluded the same as I, that the gems were the true enemy, and her body was only a physical manifestation. When I removed the last gem I expected her to vanish, but she turned out to be very real. None of the Trees on Jurai suspected this, so I wasn't given orders to take this into account. I contacted Jurai and relayed that Ryoko was actually a girl with no recollection of Jurai. It took them several days to decide how to act.
"During that time I was ordered to keep her prisoner." Katsuhito laughed, "Prisoner... such an inappropriate word to describe her. It was actually more along the lines of me taking care of her. In those few days I learned everything about her. There wasn't much to do while we waited, so she told me about herself. She talked the entire time."
Tenchi laughed, "Talked about herself? That doesn't sound like Ryoko at all."
Katsuhito frowned. "I know, and that's partly my fault. Eventually my orders came in to carry out her sentence. I protested that there couldn't be a sentence if she wasn't even at the trial to represent herself. They made it clear—my father made it clear—that I was to do as I was told or he would send more forces to arrest me and carry out the sentence anyway."
"Her sentence was life imprisonment in the cave, right?"
Katsuhito shook his head. "Actually her sentence was execution... a very brutal version of it at that. But I had no choice, without her gems the forces my father would send could detain her, and they most likely would have executed me as well."
Tenchi raised his eyebrows. "He would do that? Kill is own son?"
"Ryoko killed hundreds of millions of people. Losing a son meant nothing to him, if it assured Ryoko would never risk his planet again. I would have died in vein. So I did as I was told. However, I had no idea that Ryoko was indestructible. The cave was a crude supplement for our inability to kill her."
Katsuhito gaze went distant and he went silent.
"Grandfather?"
"I'm sorry Tenchi, I can't tell you anymore. I don't wish to think about it any longer." Katsuhito stood and slowly started walking away. Tenchi said nothing and allowed him to leave in silence.
When Ryoko finally woke up it was almost dinner time. She floated through the floors yawning and rubbing her eyes and eventually ended up in the kitchen. Sasami was there, making the final preparations for the family's supper.
Dinner proceeded like normal, only that everyone was somber and untalkative. Ryoko, Nobuyuki, and Sasami were the exception. At one point during the meal the silence got so bad Ryoko had to lean over to Nobuyuki and ask if something terrible had happened that she missed. He didn't know, and neither did Sasami. The meal finally came to and end and everyone went their separate ways as they prepared for bed, giving one another only a glance for a 'goodnight'.
Naturally Ryoko was wide awake. With everyone nearing bed time, she had nothing to do. Almost like a reflex she thought,
*Ryoko: Might as well just take a bath, I probably need one anyway.*
She then thought,
*Ryoko: I don't know who that was just now, but you better knock it off. Don't screw with me.*
She half expected a response from one of the Goddesses, but when none came she teleported to the Onsen. There she found Aeka, looking just as miserable as she did at the dinner table. Ryoko snickered at the golden opportunity to torment her. She took off her clothes and snuck up behind her.
"Why so blue, Princess?" Ryoko jumped into the bath right next to Aeka, making sure to cause a splash that would hit her face.
Coughing, Aeka said, "Oh! Ryoko you scared me."
Ryoko said. "What? That's it? You're not mad? What was the deal with everyone today? I'm gone for one day and everyone loses their personality!"
"I didn't really notice."
Ryoko said, "I'm not surprised, you never lifted your eyes off your plate during dinner. Everyone else was the same."
Aeka lightly nodded and said, "Oh."
"Alright, something happened and I'm going to find out what it was. Now tell me what's wrong right now."
Aeka sighed and said, "I'm fine."
"Um... you're sure about that?"
"Yeah..." Aeka paused for a moment and asked, "... H-how are you?"
"How am I?" Ryoko stood in outrage. "How am I!?!?! Aeka what the hell is wrong with you? Since when have you ever asked how I was?" Ryoko grabbed her shoulders and throttled her. "You're supposed to say something snobby and then I'm supposed to shoot something back. C'mon Aeka, you're not playing the game right!"
Aeka didn't seem fazed by Ryoko roughing her around, she simply said, "I'm sorry... I was just trying to be nice."
Ryoko crossed her arms. "Well stop it, you're pissing me off. If you don't want to get the ball rolling then I will. Hmmm let's see here, what's a good general insult? You're good at this Aeka, can't you think of one?"
Aeka quietly shrugged. "Uh, I don't know."
"I'm only good at subtle provoking, not blatant insults..." After thinking a while Ryoko smacked her fist in her palm and said, "I've got one! You're a bitch. Okay your turn."
Ryoko filled with excitement as she anticipated Aeka's counter, but none came. "Aeka?"
Suddenly Aeka burst into tears and she hugged Ryoko.
Dumbfound, Ryoko said, "Wow that was easy."
"Ryoko I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Ryoko started pealing Aeka off of her. "Jeez Aeka, what's wrong with you? You're really starting to freak me out here."
"I didn't know... I'm so sorry..."
"Didn't know what?"
Aeka dried her eyes. "Washu... er- you're mother... what I mean is... She didn't want to tell me, but I prodded. It wasn't my business to know, but I said some things that I shouldn't have and Washu got so angry with me that she told me... things about you."
Ryoko went pale. Her breath was gone, as if someone just punched her in the stomach. Silently she said, "Stupid bitch can't keep her mouth shut..."
Aeka shook her head furiously. "No! It was my fault! I pushed the subject onto her..."
"No Aeka, it wasn't your fault, she only made you think it was. She's a manipulative bitch, and I mean that literally. Manipulating people is her job."
"I don't understand."
"Forget it. What did she tell you, anyway?"
Aeka grew silent again and turned away from Ryoko. After a moment she said, "She really only told me about the cave. I didn't think it was like that..."
Aeka looked back to Ryoko and she appeared to be relieved. "She only told you about the cave? Oh thank god, I thought she did something stupid like tell you... uh... never mind."
"But, it must have been so terrible!"
"So it got a little chilly? So what? I'm not a charity case here, so stop treating me like I'm some kid!"
Aeka stood and stared Ryoko down. "I can't believe you! It's impossible for you to ever be serious! Even your own life is just some big joke to you."
Ryoko's hand was instantly gripped tightly around Aeka's neck. "What the hell do you know?" she whispered bitterly. "You think you know enough to lecture me just because you heard Washu gab on and on about how much her life sucks? I'm trying to tell you that you don't want to know. Read between the damn lines! Besides, this isn't some fucking help seminar, she's just bitching like she always does. So why don't you mind your own business like you should have before with Washu."
Ryoko pushed her and she crashed into the deeper water. Ryoko sat back down where she was sitting before and tried to get back to relaxing.
Aeka waded back to the bench and sat down. Ryoko caught the resentful expression on her face and said, "Hey! That's more like it! You're not going to let me slide for the last one, are you? C'mon, give me your best shot!"
For a moment Aeka wanted to do just that. But instead she sighed deeply and activated her force-field around the Onsen. "Neither of us is leaving here until you show some honesty."
Ryoko smacked her forehead. "Oh GOD! This is so pointless! You know I can outlast you anyway, you'll be dozing off before it's midnight."
Aeka turned her head away, "I'd be shocked if you showed such patience."
"Fine, have it your way." Ryoko slouched lower into the water and made bubbles with her nose.
After a few minutes passed she heard a voice in her mind,
*Washu: Why are you being so cold to her? You know she's not trying to cause trouble.*
*Ryoko: I don't want to talk to you right now.*
*Washu: Too bad. Listen to me, this morning she told me that she wouldn't mind being your friend, give or take a few choice words. Why don't you try and have a talk with her like you do with me."
*Ryoko: Well I don't want to be that rude.*
*Washu: You know what I mean.*
*Ryoko: I think I'll pass; besides I wouldn't want to humor you. I know you set all of this up, I don't have to be your little pawn.*
*Washu: Actually I have nothing to do with this, and you know you can take my word for it. I just happened to notice and thought it was a good idea, so I'm playing along.*
*Ryoko: Wouldn't that be meddling just a little too directly, Goddess?*
*Washu: I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just a worried mother checking up on her poor grief stricken daughter.*
*Ryoko: Go to hell.*
*Washu: There's no such place.*
"Damnit anyways," Ryoko muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing, someone's just pissing me off."
Aeka crossed her arms and said, "That someone is sitting right here, so I'd rather you speak to me directly."
"No, not you, Someone else. Forget it."
Ryoko sighed and shifted positions. She hated it when Aeka was right, but her patience was wearing thin. It was more because she was bored out of her mind than anything else. "What do you want from me?"
"I would only like to be able to talk to you honestly without fearing mockery. If there's something you don't want to talk about then I certainly won't force you to say it."
Ryoko tried to laugh but it came out as more of a whine. "Why do you care, anyway? Why can't we just keep things simple, like how it was before? I liked you better that way."
To Aeka, the question was rather invasive, but she had to remind herself that Ryoko must be feeling the same thing. "We'll, it would seem only proper if I were to go first. The reason I'm doing this is because of something Washu said this morning."
*Ryoko: Aha! I knew it!*
*Washu: Quit jumping to conclusions and listen to her.*
"She said that my complaining sounded like I was interested in being your friend, but I couldn't do that because of how you... behave. I thought she was only teasing me, but I gave it a lot of thought and I can say... that... yes... I want to be your friend, Ryoko. Whenever we're not discussing Tenchi we've had a lot of fun together, and I thought... well... Both of us being interested in the same person is a pretty awful reason to lose a friend."
Ryoko's expression was casual at first, but then she smiled and said, "Okay, sure."
"Um..."
"It's sounds corny to say, but sure I'll be your friend. I thought we already were, but if you want to make it official then that's fine by me."
Aeka frowned. "Ryoko..."
"I'm not teasing! I swear!"
Relieved, Aeka said, "Thank you. This is all very new to me. I've never had a friend before."
Ryoko sat up straight. "What? You've never had a single friend your entire life?"
"I've had my family, and I've had my servants. The only people I was allowed to converse with were the royal families from other planets. But I could never consider them my friends. Most of them were only socialites, and I could tell they didn't care for what I had to say when I spoke with them. That's part of the reason I'm so close to Sasami, we've been keeping each other company whenever one of us became lonely."
A signal went off in Aeka's mind that told her Ryoko was about to belittle her feelings, which she usually does around this point, but this time she did not. In fact no reply came at all, because Ryoko was trying to come up with something to say that didn't have some kind of insult embedded into it.
"Well I guess that makes two of us."
Aeka nodded, knowing that there was no way Ryoko could have made a friend during her life. However, she knew that Ryoko had family, and Aeka asked, "Ryoko, why aren't you on good terms with your mother?"
Ryoko went silent and she closed her eyes.
"I'm sorry, that was too personal."
"No, it's okay. I'm checking something else." Ryoko had been practicing detecting when her aunts or mother were pulling intergalactic strings. She tried it again now.
*Ryoko: Anyone out there?*
*Ryoko: ...... Anyone?!*
*Washu: Just the peanut gallery.*
Ryoko laughed. "Wow, you really do want to know this."
It was more of a statement than a question, but Aeka answered, "Yes."
Ryoko laughed again and leaned into a more comfortable position. "So, why do I hate Washu? I don't know how to sum it up, but if I were to try, I would say it's because I wouldn't want to give her the satisfaction of playing the 'savior-parent' role. She hasn't done anything to deserve it."
Aeka lowered her head and said, "Oh."
"What? Is that not what you wanted to hear?"
"No it's not that. I'm trying not to speak about things I don't know much about."
Ryoko shrugged. "Go ahead and say it. This won't go anywhere if you don't."
"Well, I think your mother is more deserving than you think. Even before what happened this morning, I could tell that she loves you a lot. I accused her of not caring about you, but... " she paused before releasing the sensitive information, "... I only said that to make her explain why she never interacts with you. I didn't really believe it."
"I know you were just saying things to get her to talk, so don't sweat it. Yeah, she loves me... I know that too. My mind is connected with hers that she and I can hear each other's thoughts if either of us willed it." Ryoko sat forward and rested her head on her knees. "Of course she loves me."
Aeka pleaded with her. "But then why do you hate her?"
Ryoko hissed, "Because she just doesn't know when to let go! She got burned pretty badly when her son was taken from her. She still wanted a kid, but she didn't want to risk losing another one. So she makes me invulnerable. I honestly have no idea how to kill myself. I've tried so many times when I was with Kagato. Even when I don't have my gems with me I'm just as flimsy as the next girl, but my flesh still regenerates. I know it's possible for me to die, but I could never do it myself. Every time I try I pass out long before being fatally injured.
"She wanted a kid who could never possibly leave her. One that's anchored to her brain and could never die, and look where it got us. We would have been fine if she made me a normal girl. Kagato wouldn't have cared about me. I would have lived out my life by now. I would have already had a job, met some guy, got married, had a few kids of my own, and died loving the life I had."
"But, this morning she said—"
"This morning she said that sometimes she wished I could die because she loves me so much, bla, bla, bla. I'm reading it from her memory right now. Yes, one time I looked into her mind and I actually found one notion of regret for making me as strong as I am. She told you that she wished I could die, which is technically true since she did think it once, but she's never thought it again, and believe me I've been watching for it. After having every cell in my body crystallized and thawed seven hundred times over, it's like a smack in the face when she shows no regret for what she put me through. If I were to get injured so badly it would kill anyone else, they have the luxury of dying, but I get patched so I can do it again and again. Do you have any ideas how many times I've 'died'? And to think she still feels no regret!"
The Onsen quieted and all that could be heard was soft rattling of Aeka's force field, but after a moment that fell silent as well. Ryoko glanced at her curiously and she replied with, "It wasn't necessary anymore, and it was getting tiring."
Ryoko smiled and asked, "Well, does that satisfy your question?"
"Yes, I guess it does."
Ryoko shrugged. "Don't get me wrong though, I would be pretty miserable if she hadn't shown up."
Confused by the sudden change in character, Aeka said, "Uh... You just said--"
"She knows everything about me, because of our mental link. Hell, she's listening to us even now. As creepy as that can be sometimes, she knows everything about me, whether I want her to or not."
Speaking softer, Ryoko said, "When she first showed up she was a total stranger who could read me like an open book. With ease, she could sum up all of my emotions in a single phrase. I tried killing myself again in those first few weeks. If she wanted to she could betray me and tell everyone about me, and that honestly scared the shit out of me."
Ryoko laughed, sounding more choked up than she wanted to. "I could never keep anything from her, so I stopped trying. And with the exception of this morning, she didn't say a about me to anyone. After a while I actually began to trust her. She's the only person I trust, really."
In disbelief, Aeka asked, "No one else?"
"It's complicated..." As if disagreeing with herself she added, "No it's not... it's stupid."
Aeka shook her head. "I doubt it's actually stupid, Ryoko."
Ryoko turned away from Aeka and sighed. "I need my mom because..." She stopped herself. Her voice was quivering and she didn't want Aeka to know she was on the verge of crying.
"Ryoko, you don't have to tell me if it's too hard."
"No, you wanted to know so I'm going to tell you." She paused to try and hold back her tears long enough to speak. "The reason I need her is because she's all I have. I can't go to anyone about my problems. If I'm pissed off about something she'll listen to me complain. If something great happened she'll congratulate me. If I'm feeling miserable she'll try and cheer me up. If I'm scared she'll hold me and make me feel safe. If I'm sick of living life she'll tell me everything will be all right. No one else could do that for me. The only reason why it was painful at first was because she showed me what I never had."
Ryoko sniffled and said, "I swear to go Aeka if you make fun of me I will kill you."
Aeka frowned in remorse. "You can trust me, Ryoko."
She laughed while wiping her eyes. "One step at a time, now. I'll tell you about myself, but going as far as trusting you is a bit extreme."
Aeka was confused. She didn't understand how Ryoko distinguished them as two separate things. "How have you told me so much already and still not trust me?"
"Aeka... I'm telling you the easy stuff. So now you know I love my mom, not very incriminating information if you ask me. Of course if you blab this to everyone in the house I probably would never want to talk to you for the rest of my life... if it ever ends."
Aeka smiled. "I swear I won't say a word. But I have to ask, I thought Tenchi was the most important person in your life, since that isn't the case does that mean you're not as serious as you made it look?"
Grinning, Ryoko stuck out her tongue. "I love Tenchi, and don't you ever forget that. The difference is simple: If tomorrow I never saw Tenchi I would miss him and worry about him. But if I went twenty-four hours without my mom I would have a nervous breakdown. I honestly have no idea how I got by without her."
Aeka shook her head. "It's amazing that you have that kind of connection with her. On the outside your relationship seems much simpler."
She shrugged. "That's the idea."
Aeka saw Ryoko's expression go solemn. She asked, "What's the matter?"
"I just remembered something about Tenchi that happened today. Normally I would be overjoyed... and I was at first... but you're not going to like it."
Aeka's eyebrows focused. "What happened, Ryoko?"
"Eh... I shouldn't be the one to tell you. You're really not going to like it, and I don't want to hurt your feelings right when we got this 'official friendship' thing going."
Aeka frowned. "You might as well just tell me anyway, I'll only drive myself crazy trying to guess what it is."
Ryoko's expression became empathic. "Well... if you really want to know... There's no easy way to say this so I'll just come right out with it. Tenchi likes me, and not you."
Aeka giggled. "Very funny Ryoko, but I thought we were going to stop the games?"
Her laughter was cut off by Ryoko's unchanging face. "No jokes, no games. I'm serious about this. I'm really sorry, Aeka. I don't know how to make it easier for you. But I am just really, really sorry."
Aeka was appalled. "How can you know something like that? He hasn't said anything to either of us about it."
"It was earlier today when I was sleeping. I woke up once and saw him watching me. Later on I woke up again because he was touching me. I pretended to sleep because I really didn't know what to think. He put his hand on my cheek and brought his face so close to mine I thought for sure he was going to kiss me. It's really hard to get the wrong idea about a guy when he's that close to you."
Ryoko looked at Aeka again and she was crying. She quickly went to her side. "Oh, Aeka, I'm so sorry. I wish there was something I could do. Our situation could easily be reversed, so please know that I understand how you feel."
Ryoko went to place her hand on Aeka's shoulder but Aeka batted it away. "Don't patronize me. You're loving every moment of this."
"Aeka don't say that! I didn't plan this."
Aeka stood and started to leave. "I can't believe I thought you could stay honest for more than five minutes!"
Ryoko teleported in front of her and stopped her at arms length. "Aeka listen to me! I'm NOT making fun of you. I've been honest the whole time!"
Aeka tried to fight past her. "I have no reason to believe anything you say anymore."
"Of course you do! Because... damnit, you know more about me than Tenchi does! I would never lie to him! And I could never lie to you, either!"
Aeka struggled less and less until she found herself hugging Ryoko, followed by a new wave of tears that crashed down. "But why? I loved him..."
"I don't know, Aeka. Maybe that's why he could never say anything even after four years, because he knew how much this would hurt one of us."
In between sobs Aeka managed to say, "It's just not fair!"
"I know, Aeka. It's not fair that he likes me, because I'll admit I haven't really given him a rational reason to like me. I don't help out around the house and somehow I always end up destroying things. I don't know why he likes me, but he does."
"I know... he's only one person, and it's either one of us or neither. I knew the risk, and I shouldn't be crying."
Ryoko shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous, Aeka. You have every right to be upset. In fact I think you should give him an ear full next time you see him. Honestly, just what the hell was he thinking ignoring a noble Princess like you?"
Aeka laughed. "You don't have to do that. Thank you... I'm sorry for jumping to the wrong conclusion."
Ryoko stepped away from their hug and said. "Don't worry about it. You're taking it a lot better than I would have."
Aeka's smile faded as she felt more tears rushing forward. "I still need some time alone..."
"Are you sure? Crying feels worse when you do it alone, trust me I know."
"Thank you... but I really need to be by myself right now."
Ryoko stepped aside. "All right. I um... I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."
Aeka headed for the exit and said, "Yes."
After she was gone Ryoko let out a deep sigh. Immediately after she heard Washu speak to her mind.
*Washu: I'm really proud of you.*
*Ryoko: Whatever.*
*Washu: C'mon, let a mother praise her daughter for once! I thought you said you liked it when I did.*
*Ryoko: Well, yeah of course! Seriously, I don't know why we still bother with words, you know what I'm really thinking anyway...*
*Washu: I like to consider it practice for when you tell other people about yourself using words. I know how much that scared you to tell her those private things, it was pretty brave. And it ended up paying off, too.*
*Ryoko: I guess, but how come I still feel like shit?*
*Washu: That one's called empathy. Aeka's feelings were hurt, and you're feeling bad about it.*
*Ryoko: So now I have to start feeling bad when other people feel bad? I don't even have enough time to feel bad for myself... *
*Washu: In the end it actually helps you to feel better overall.*
*Ryoko: I'll just have to take your word for it... I know I can do that...*
Ryoko went to the Onsen's exit to head back to the house, but she didn't make it off the platform. Their talk lasted longer than she thought and night was pitch black. Her eyes eventually adjusted and she was able to see the house, which was just as dark inside as the night. Ryoko whimpered in frustration.
*Ryoko: ... Um.................................. Mama?*
*Washu: Yes, honey?*
*Ryoko: Can I sleep in your bed tonight?*
*Washu: Of course.*
Ryoko vanished and reappeared in front of Washu's lab door. Quickly she dashed through and closed it swiftly behind her.
*Ender's Game reference. Read Ender's Game.
