Disclaimer: I do not own this anime. Sorry.

Lullaby Of Flowers

Chapter Eight: The Sakura Petals Fall

Written By:

Samanda Hime-sama

"Ayeka's memories are returning at a fast rate." Washuu spoke to the members of the house.

Only Sasami and Ayeka were absent from the medical update Washuu was sharing with the rest of the group. It would only frustrate Ayeka more to hear about her problems. And Sasami had been charged with keeping her sister out of the way.

Tenchi smiled. "That's great."

"How is she doing?" Katsuhito spoke.

Washuu shook her head. "Not well. She's having problems integrating what she's remembered with what's happening in the present. It's a bad sign that she's mixing the two together. I'm afraid she is going to have another breakdown."

Ryoko was openly worried. "Can we help her?"

Washuu was lost for a moment in the pride she felt for her daughter. She had changed so! Then recalling the topic, she cleared her throat. "I believe we should send her on a little vacation until this little problem sorts itself out."

"A vacation from her vacation...?" Katsuhito murmured, remembering words spoken by Ayeka years ago.

Tenchi spoke suddenly. "We all want her to be happy." He paused. "And here, at this moment, she's not happy is she?"

"She's too confused to know how she feels." Washuu replied. "I hope that as she sorts through her memories, she will also sort through her feelings. She needs to know."

"I agree." Katsuhito spoke again. "Ayeka must find her way without us. We would only serve as a distraction."

"I don't like this idea." Ryoko, who disliked manipulation in any form, broke in "But if it's the only way to help Ayeka, then I agree."

Tenchi understood his wife very well. Ryoko had moved beyond what Kagato had done to her, long ago. But she still remembered. "I agree, as well."

"Then let us ask Ayeka." Washuu said into the silence that followed.

Tenchi found her in the garden that she had started so many years ago. She sat upon an ivory garden bench that had been added a few years ago. A decorative matching fence surrounded her on all sides as she glanced at the climbing roses that made their rambling home on the fence that towered around her.

Tenchi entered by the only gate. "Hello, Ayeka."

"Hello." She replied. "When did this happen?"

Tenchi followed her glance to the walls. "Oh, two years ago. Sasami decided that she wanted to add some new species of roses to your garden. She thought you would enjoy seeing something new. So she asked Washuu to help her out."

"It looks beautiful." Ayeka offered.

Tenchi laughed. "It should, after all the work we did to replant the garden exactly as you had laid it out."

"Oh!" Ayeka exclaimed. "What happened to it?"

Tenchi rubbed his head. "Well, Washuu imported the wrong species of roses. We accidentally planted this kind that is cannibilistic. No, no!" He said hastily at her horrified look. "They only started to bother humans after they ate all the other plants in the vicinity."

"But everyone was all right?" Ayeka asked, still a little horrifed.

Tenchi nodded. "Yeah. One tried to take a bite out of Mihoshi when she came out to water, but missed because she tripped. Washuu exterminated them without any major problems."

"So you rebuilt my garden." Ayeka spoke softly as her gaze wandered.

Tenchi smiled. "Yes. But then everyone started adding in ideas of their own, plants of their own. There are many plants growing here in this spot that do not exist here on this world. Washuu suggested the bench and Sasami, the garden walls. Mihoshi picked plants she knew you would like to see, small reminders of Jurai as well as more exotic varieties."

Ayeka smiled. "And Ryoko and yourself?"

"We helped plant the flowers." Tenchi told her. "She liked it but I doubt she'll ever garden as a hobby. Not enough patience left over from the children."

Ayeka's gaze fell to her lap. "It's beautiful. More so than the original, I think. The fence makes me feel safe."

"Sasami knew you would like it." Tenchi was smiling. "She read a book called The Secret Garden and loaned it to you. It became a favorite with the two of you. So when we rebuilt, we added the walls and the roses to make it a secret garden. You even had your own key hanging on a peg in your room by the door."

Ayeka blinked gently then smiled. "So that was what the key was for... I wondered about that."

Tenchi cleared his throat. "Speaking of feeling safe, are you sure that leaving is what you want to do?"

"Yes," Ayeka was sure of this. "My returning memories blur reality and my sense of time. It's confusing to me because I find myself reacting to that memory as if it was happening now, at this second. It's disorienting to apologize for something, only to have that person blink and assure me that they have already forgiven me since it happened four years ago."

"Here you have a safety net if you get into trouble." Tenchi reminded her. "Now it will take longer for us to respond since you won't be as close."

Ayeka's gaze went distant for a moment then returned. "No, but Washuu will be coming with me. I'll have her to help me."

Seeing his distress, she covered his hand with her own for a moment before withdrawing. "Be at ease, Tenchi. You have all gone on your lives without me. I feel like Sleeping Beauty did as she awoke after her magical sleep. While she slept, the world moved on without her. You have all evolved and changed into different people while I was sleeping. Now, I need to recover who I was and integrate it into who I am now. Only then can I return and evolve along with everyone else."

"I know." Tenchi agreed with a sigh. "But I still hoped you would stay."

Ayeka smiled. "I won't be gone forever. I will still be close. Friends are engraved on your heart and can never be truly far away. That is one of the most wonderful things about it."

"Sasami will be staying here?" Tenchi asked.

Ayeka nodded. "Yes. She needs to build a life for herself, one that revolves around what she needs. She has been too busy taking care of me that she has not settled what she wants to do with her own life. She deserves a chance to find that."

"She already has." Tenchi said thoughtfully. "Her life revolves around her family, both blood related and those she has chosen as family."

Ayeka's voice was full of love for her sister. "I know. But she also wants to start her own family. And for that she needs a husband who loves her as much as we do. She will not find that while she is occupied with me. So let her find her own way. I will support her as much as I can, now as well as later. And until her wedding day comes, I will occupy myself with stitching her bridal kimono."

Sasami will pick a good man." Tenchi reassured her.

Ayeka smiled gently. "I know. Sasami has good instincts. She is one of the rare happy people and I want her to stay that way. Not many persevere through their problems so flawlessly as she does. The only selfish thing I want for Sasami is for her to be as unlike me as possible."

"You are a wonderful person, Ayeka!" Tenchi protested.

Her silence disagreed with him but then she spoke. "You are a kind person, Tenchi. Is it any wonder that everyone who meets you eventually falls under your spell. Your heart is big enough for everyone who comes along."

She stood as he assimilated what she had just said. "I am tired so I think I will nap. Until later, Tenchi."

"I'm not the only one with a big heart." He said after he was alone. "You have one too, Ayeka. Change is a lot like the cycle of the sakura. The flowers blossom despite hardship before the cherries grow. As the fruit ripens, the petals fall because they are not needed anymore. And in each of the fruit lies a seed of potential that can fall to the ground and grow into another sakura tree. A new cycle begins when the old one ends."

He laughed as he plucked a rose to take to his beloved wife. "Throw off your blossoms again, Ayeka, and realize the potential that you have forgotten."