Chapter Six
The Royal Palace of Jurai was silent.
As the night drew deeper across the lands, most of the people were in bed, worn out from their hard days working or playing. In the tall trunk of the Palace tree, even the Emperor and his wife were sound in slumber. The only sound was the whispering and sighing of the wind through the trees, as the branches bent and moaned against the summer elements.
In the depths of the palace complex, a lone figure padded softly and determinedly towards her goal, taking one careful step after another as she drew closer and closer to her destination. Stark white against the dark backdrop of the night, she seemed to glow with an uncanny light, as if guiding something far greater than herself into the bowels of the planet.
As she drew deeper into the underbelly of the palace, so the light around her became stronger and more vivid, and had anyone been there to hear it, they would have been surprised at the soft words whispered along the hallway, bouncing and echoing off the walls and the floors.
Still the figure crept onwards, her focus unbroken by the whisperings and wailings that seemed to be getting louder. At length she reached a door, and she paused, determination flaring in her blank crimson eyes. Raising her hand slowly, she placed the palm on the lock of the door, closing her eyes slowly. Light seemed to flood through her, and the door buckled and bent beneath her touch, the lock warping and snapping with a soft 'click' as she pushed her way inside.
Up in the highest tower of the palace guardroom, a lone soldier cast a startled glance at his desk, noticing the flashing light and getting to his feet in an instant. With a cry of 'Intruder!" he thumped his fist down hard on the alarm, sending loud sound waves drumming through the rest of the guard's quarters and bringing to life many of his sleeping colleagues.
"What is it?" One man demanded. "Don't you know I'm trying to sleep?"
"Intruder in sector five, zone eight one zero." The first soldier jabbed his finger towards the flashing light, just one among a dashboard of many.
"What could be causing it?" Another man asked.
"Look! Whoever it is, they've reached the second checkpoint!" A third exclaimed. He grabbed the radio.
"Attention all units! We have an intruder in sector five, progressing from zone eight one zero to zone eight one one. Repeat, intruder in sector five, progressing from zone eight one zero to zone eight one one. Suspect destination appears to be the Royal Vault. Mass and apprehend, immediately!"
He flicked another switch, then,
"Azaka! Kamadake! To the Emperor's room at once!" He shouted. "We have an intruder - protect His Majesty at all costs!"
In the depths of the tree, the sole figure walked slowly onwards, never faltering her step for one moment, though alarms rang out around her and lights flashed on and off, flooding the corridor with blue light at random intervals. Each security door posed her no problem, as she calmly dispatched with the last one, stepping into the most secure place in all of the Jurai royal palace.
The room was small, surrounded by concrete thick walls and protected by delicate beams of laser light. Years of technological advancement had gone into building this room, and yet the figure walked straight to the centre, pushing aside the protective systems and reaching to pick up the item she had come for, sliding it into the folds of her gown.
"Washu." A voice whispered in her head, and the girl turned, preparing to make her way back out of the vault.
As she did so, however, the room flooded with natural light, and a guard reached out, grabbing her tightly by the arm.
"Stop right there!" He ordered, then, "Princess Sasami?"
Sasami stared up at him with expressionless red eyes, and for a moment, nothing moved. Then she pulled her arm away, reaching out to push the guard aside. The touch was neither violent nor rough, but the guard stumbled backwards, grasping his arm with a look of shock and horror in his eyes.
"Tsunami preserve us!" He whispered. "She's possessed by demons!"
"What's all the noise down here?" The Emperor's voice echoed down the corridor, followed by his brother's cry of
"What's going on? Why is there all this commotion?"
The soldier in charge saluted his Emperor sharply, confusion and fear on his face.
"Honourable Lord Azusa, the alerts sounded for a break in down here in the vault." He said, his tones stiff with formality. "We came down here expecting to find an intruder, but instead..."
"Uncle Azusa?" Sasami's voice cut across the soldier's harried report, and the small girl reached up to rub her eyes. "What's going on? Why are all these people here...where am I?"
"Sasami?" Haru burst through the thronging soldiers, scooping his daughter up in his arms as fear and dismay flooded his expression. "What are you doing down here, Sasami-chan? What on earth is all of this?"
"I don't know, Daddy. I don't know." Sasami blinked, shaking her head. "Where is this place? I've never even been here before, and why are all those guards looking at me that way? Daddy, what's happening? I don't understand!"
"Soldier, make your report." Haru turned to the man in command, shooting him a quizzical glare. "Why is the Princess Sasami brought down here, and where is your intruder? Don't tell me you let him escape!"
"Pardon me, Honoured Lord Haru." The soldier bowed his head. "But it seems that the intruder was the lady Sasami."
"What?" Azusa's eyes became big with surprise, and Haru reacted angrily, bringing his hand across the soldier's face in a terse slap.
"Do not give me such crazy answers!" He exclaimed. "You heard the Princess - she doesn't even know where this place is! How can you make accusations against her?"
"Honoured Lord Haru, I saw it with my own eyes." Another soldier timidly raised his hand. "She was here, in the middle of the room - I saw Sasami-denka, but I saw no other. And then when I grabbed her by the arm, in my surprise she repelled me. It was a magic touch, Lord Haru. Not the touch of a little girl. I swear it all as if on Tsunami's life, that's what I saw."
"Sasami?" Azusa cast the young princess a questioning look, and Sasami buried her head in her father's shoulder, tears beginning to spill down her cheeks.
"I didn't do it." She sobbed. "How could I get here, Uncle Azusa? I don't even know where here is!"
"This is the Royal Vault. Only the most high ranking of personnel have clearance to come here." Haru told her quietly. "Even your sister does not have the correct clearance to enter yet, and very few people know where exactly it is situated."
He turned to his brother.
"I'm sorry, Azusa, I don't see how Sasami can be responsible for any of this. You saw the doors - pushed apart by no ordinary force. Sasami is a child...and she has no Jurai power to speak of. How can you believe she would do something like this?"
"Haru-chan, I must speak to the child." Azusa put a hand on his brother's shoulder, using the other one to touch Sasami lightly on the brow. "Tell me, little one, what were you dreaming of tonight?"
"I...I don't know." Sasami raised tearstained cheeks to his, shaking her head. "I wasn't dreaming - at least, I don't think I was. I remember going to bed, and Ayeka came to see me just before I went to sleep. She showed me a necklace that Takeru-san had given her, and I told her how much I was looking forward to her wedding. Then she left me and I went to sleep. And...and that's all. The next thing I knew, I was here."
"She was possessed, Lord Haru. Taken by demons." The nervy soldier put in, and Haru glared at him.
"Don't be so ridiculous!" He exclaimed. "Demons do not come in the night to possess little girls! Get a grip on your senses, soldier. It seems obvious to me what's gone on here...and why you've failed to find your so called intruder."
"What's that, Haru?" Azusa looked startled. "You think you know who was down here, and why?"
"Yes." Haru's eyes narrowed. "It was that wretched Space Pirate. Ryoko. That's who it was. They say she can appear and disappear like a flickering light - well, we've all seen her do it! And only one of the secure storage units is touched...the one in which the jewels she had are kept."
There was a moment of silence, then Sasami struggled against her father's grip.
"No, Father! Ryoko wouldn't! She wouldn't! She doesn't even want those gemstones!" She protested.
"Sasami, I have already told you about your association with her." Haru said warningly. "It stops, right now. You hear me? She's still a pirate and we've not all been duped over. I'll see to it that she serves her sentence for this."
"No, Haru." Azusa held up his hand. "I don't think that will be necessary."
"What do you mean?" Haru stared at his brother.
"I don't think Ryoko was down here at all, tonight." Azusa pursed his lips. "The doors are broken all along the passageway, but Ryoko walks through walls, doesn't she? Why would she need to destroy so many doors just to get to here?"
"Well..."
"And for that matter, if so few people know the whereabouts of this vault, how would she be able to find it so easily?" Azusa added. "No, Haru. We must refrain from making accusations until we know some definite facts. For now, Lady Sasami must be returned to her bedroom. It has been far too eventful a night for her, whatever else has happened. And then you and I must try and piece this mystery together. I don't think you'll find your answer with Ryoko."
"We'll see about that."
Gently Haru put his daughter down on the ground. "I find that more simple to believe than the idea my daughter was possessed by a demon."
As he set Sasami on her feet, something fell out of her gown with a clatter, and a nearby soldier bent to pick it up. It was a smooth, silver capsule, and without a word, he held it out. Haru gaped at it, taking it in his hands and sending Sasami a disbelieving look. Sasami's own eyes widened in dismay.
"But I didn't! I don't know...I don't know how!" She protested. "I promise, Daddy! I swear I don't know anything about it. I swear I don't!"
"Quiet, my child. No harm is done." Azusa told her gently. "The gems are found, and that's all that matters. However they got into your possession, everything will be all right now."
He turned, watching as his brother set the capsule down gingerly back on the edge of their protective vault. Then he glanced at his guards, picking out two female officers, not far from the back.
"You and you, take the Lady Sasami back to her room." He said quietly. "And make sure she rests."
"Yes, Azusa-heika." One of the women saluted sharply. "At once!"
"And Sasami-chan, don't think of this again." Azusa told her gently. "I'm sure there is a rational explanation, and it's nothing you should concern yourself with."
Sasami nodded her head, her eyes tearful and full of doubt as she was gently led away down the corridor. Slowly the guards also dispersed, leaving the Emperor alone in the vault with his brother.
For a moment, there was silence between them. Then Haru glanced up.
"You think Sasami did take them, don't you?" He said quietly. Azusa pursed his lips.
"I don't know." He admitted. "But I don't believe Ryoko or anyone else was down here this evening. Haru, I know Sasami almost as well as you do, and love her just as dearly. You know that. It's always been that way. But there are things...things said to me by you, by others. Things we may need to discuss with her, when the time is right."
"What kind of things do you mean?" Haru looked alarmed. Azusa spread his hands.
"When Sasami took your Tsunami-ship into space, it responded to her commands as if she was born to fly it. Azaka and Kamadake have made me identical reports on that subject." He said softly. "Yes, she is almost old enough for a ship of her own, but isn't it strange that it should be that ship? Of all of your vessels, it should be that one she should choose?"
"I don't suppose it was more than coincidence."
"Really?" Azusa raised an eyebrow. "Haru, nobody really knows where that ship came from, or why it resides with our fleet. When it chose to dock with your ships, I didn't question it - I know that trees have ideas and thoughts beyond ours sometimes, and that there would be a reason for it. I admit, I suspected Ayeka - but then she bonded so closely to Ryu Oh and I was forced to think again. And now Sasami..."
He faltered.
"You know as well as I do that noone has ever been able to fly that ship out of port." He added. "It's tree is a ghost tree, non-existant and yet somehow real, beyond all else. An illusion - the ship as much as anything else. Yet it's power and it's soul are so strong - have you never felt it?"
"I don't have your Jurai Power, brother." There was an edge to Haru's tone. "It's always been another ship to me. Just another ship."
"Tsunami's ship." Azusa sighed. "I think we both know what I'm trying to say, don't we?"
"We do." Haru said shortly. "And I won't agree with you. Sasami is a young girl - and that is all there is to it. There is no need to talk about stupid things like Tsunami. She may be the Tree of Life, but she's that for the whole of Jurai. She can't belong to Sasami. It doesn't make any sense."
"No, not if she were to belong to Sasami." Azusa shook his head. "Haru-chan, when we were children, do you not remember the stories we were taught about Tsunami? Her legend, and how one day her spirit would rise again in one of her people's descendants to protect Jurai from great harm?"
"I remember. So what?"
"So what if that descendant is Sasami?" Azusa asked softly.
"Impossible!"
"Why is it so?"
"Because I know my daughter and besides, that's just a legend!" Haru exclaimed. "Listen to what you are saying! Sasami isn't even grown up, and you say she's Tsunami's chosen one? It's crazy. She hasn't even mustered Jurai's power yet - she's barely more than a little girl!"
"A little girl who flew that spaceship half way across the known galaxy." Azusa reminded him. "Who had such influence over it that she guided it back to Jurai in Azaka and Kamadake's care. And even if all of that seems airy fairy to you, Haru-chan, we've heard many accounts from several sources about how Sasami put her hands to Ryoko's dead body and brought life back to it. Even from your own eldest daughter. So many people cannot be mistaken, surely? Tsunami worked through your daughter to save Ryoko's life."
"Or she thought she did."
"Well, believe what you will." Azusa sighed. "Ignoring it won't alter the fact your daughter is changing, Haru."
Haru was silent for a moment. Then he nodded.
"In the library earlier, she spoke to me." He said slowly. "Told me things about my own past, things that I've never recounted to anyone, living or dead. But Azusa, she's such a child. And she's my child. I don't want to lose her in something too powerful for us to comprehend."
"I think that it's probably beyond our choice." Azusa said quietly. "But that Tsunami is a force for Jurai's benefit is undisputed. If she did bring Sasami here tonight - and bring her here I believe she did - then she must want those gems for something."
"The gems!" Haru's eyes strayed to the security case, but the capsule was gone, and he bit his lip, chewing down on it hard enough to draw blood. Azusa looked thoughtful.
"We must keep an eye on your youngest girl." He said contemplatively. "Haru, I think it's best if we don't encourage this in her - not till we understand it better. Don't accuse her of lying, but treat it as a game she's playing. Perhaps it will calm inside of her and we'll be able to reason out the best way to act. If Tsunami has chosen to rise through her, it is a great honour for our family. But I agree with you. She is a child. It is too soon."
"Then we'll treat tonight as an act of sleepwalking." Haru decided. "I'll talk to her about seeing a physician and we'll see where it leads us from there."
"A good idea." Azusa looked approving. "I think that caution is the best way to tread. Caution and extremely vigilant observation - at least for now."
"And what about the gems? Do you think she took them again?" Haru demanded. Azusa shrugged.
"Nobody was near them except you and I when those women took Sasami back to bed." He said simply. "If she did take them, Haru, it was the work of magic far beyond our ken."
Haru looked troubled, glancing back at the empty case.
"That's what I'm most afraid of." He admitted. "Of what is going to happen to my Sasami."
------------------------
"So what exactly did happen last night, Azaka?"
The Crown Princess set down her gilted hairbrush, turning to cast a quizzical look at the elder knight. "I heard there was a commotion, but I wasn't sure what it was. Did we really have an intruder in the palace?"
Azaka stepped into the chamber, closing the door behind him. Slowly he shook his head.
"The Emperor wishes it to be discussed as little as possible." He said gravely. "But I believe it was your small sister, Ayeka-denka. Sleepwalking."
"Sleepwalking?" Shock flooded Ayeka's expression, followed by concern. She got to her feet. "But that's not like her at all, Azaka! Are you quite sure?"
"That's what I understand, Ayeka-denka." Azaka nodded his head.
"I see." Ayeka looked troubled. "Perhaps I should go and speak to her. Tell me, has anyone been with her already this morning? Father or Mother or anyone else? Sasami has never sleepwalked in her life...it troubles me that maybe our most recent adventures have upset her more than I thought."
"I believe that the honourable Lord Haru ordered for a physician to come to her first thing." Azaka said thoughtfully. "Kamadake is at her door, on Haru-denka's orders, to prevent the Princess from being disturbed. But I'm sure he would not consider a visit from you a disturbance, Lady Ayeka."
"No, I'm sure he would not." Ayeka nodded. "And you see, Azaka, if it is that which troubles her, well, I feel to blame."
She sighed.
"If I hadn't been reckless and left my room that night, I wouldn't have fallen into Haki's custody so easily." She acknowledged. "And Sasami would never have left Jurai looking for me."
She sighed.
"Azaka, will you tell Lord Takeru that I am delayed this morning, and won't be attending breakfast with him." She said at length. "Tell him I have gone to see my sister, to make sure she's all right. After all, my duty to her is as strong as my duty to him."
"Yes, Lady Ayeka." Azaka bowed his head. "I'll tell him at once."
"Thank you." Ayeka offered a smile, then crossed the floor of her room to the door, stepping out into the corridor and making her way slowly down the hall to the room which housed her younger sister. Kamadake was indeed on sentry duty, as Azaka had told her, but he made no complaint as she asked to enter, stepping back and pulling open the door to allow her entrance.
Sasami was alone, sitting up in bed and half-heartedly attempting to finish a puzzle that someone had obviously brought her. A half-touched tray of food sat on the small wooden table by her bed, and she glanced up as Ayeka entered, a smile touching her drawn little face as she saw her sister.
"Ayeka! Oh, have you come to play with me?"
"Something like that." Ayeka smiled, coming to sit down on the end of the bed. "Sasami-chan, what have you been getting up to? I've been hearing all kinds of tales about you sleepwalking...what happened last night?"
"I wish I knew." Sasami's smile crumbled and she sighed, running her fingers through her loose waves of hair. "Ayeka, I swear. I don't remember anything except waking up down in the vault and Daddy and Uncle Azusa were there with half the palace guard. That's all I know."
"The vault?" Ayeka's eyes opened wide. "How did you get in there?"
"Apparently I broke through all the security doors and just walked in." Sasami looked helpless. "Ayeka, I'm scared. And Father won't listen to me about it. He made me see a physician this morning, because he's convinced I must be sickening for something. He calls it sleep-walking, but I don't know if it is. Do you know anyone who sleepwalks through doors?"
"I don't know anyone who sleepwalks." Ayeka said gently, touching her sister's hand. "Especially not you. Sasami, you do look pale. Perhaps Father is right. Maybe the conflict with Haki has upset you?"
"No, not that." Sasami shook her head. "Listen, Ayeka, if I tell you something - a big secret - will you promise not to mention it to Father? At least, not at the moment. He doesn't believe me and I don't know who else to talk to. He's forbidden me from talking about it, but it doesn't stop it being there."
"You know you can always talk to me, Sasami." Ayeka made herself more comfortable. "Even if I am getting married, I'm still your big sister and you can always confide in me. What's troubling you? If not our adventures with Haki, then what?"
Sasami was silent for a long time. Then she raised troubled crimson eyes to her sister's soft red ones.
"I think it's Tsunami." She whispered. "I think she's trying to become me...somehow."
Ayeka reeled back as if stung, her eyes wide with horror and surprise.
"What?" She whispered. "Tsunami? The Tree of Life? Sasami, what are you saying?"
"Since I flew with her ship, I've been able to talk to her. Access her thoughts and memories sometimes, and she sends me pictures in dreams." Sasami said haltingly, tears welling in her eyes and Ayeka forced her own alarm aside as she registered how afraid her young sister was. "Sometimes they scare me a whole lot. But I can't make her stop it. I went to the library and tried to find out more about her legend, but Daddy found me there and I think I scared him. He's barred me from going back there and I can't make sense of it. Then last night..."
She faltered, shaking her head.
"Last night something made me break into the vault and steal the gems Ryoko had." She whispered. "One of the guards said I was possessed, as if by demons. That I touched him and he fell back as if someone put a spell on him. I don't remember it, Ayeka. Not even any of it. But...but I'm sure it was Tsunami. I'm sure she made me do it."
Ayeka was silent for a moment, her mind racing. Gently she squeezed her sister's hand.
"Listen to me." She said quietly. "Tsunami is this planet's guardian and protector. She's the source of everything Jurai has - you know that. Why would she want you to steal from Uncle Azusa's vault?"
"I don't think she was stealing." Sasami toyed with her blanket. "They're her gems, aren't they? There's a story...a story about a volcano and them coming from the Earth. I dreamt it, but I found it in one of the books in the library too."
Ayeka eyed her sister carefully, realising all of a sudden how young she looked and how young she actually still was, despite all their adventures together. Inwardly she made up her mind.
"Tsunami was the one who brought Ryoko back to life, wasn't she?" She said quietly. "Through you, aboard Karasu."
"Yes."
"Do you think, then, that she's chosen you?"
Sasami raised her gaze, hope sparkling in their depths. She nodded.
"Yes." She agreed. "I read the legend in this weird book downstairs, about her coming back when Jurai needs her. And I think she's picked me. But I don't understand why or what I did to deserve it. I don't really want it, either. It's scary and I'm sure there's more to come. But the thing is, Ayeka, I don't think that it's just a coincidence. I think it was supposed to be me. And I don't know why, but in the book I found, I'm sure it has my name written on Tsunami's tree."
Ayeka sighed heavily, leaning over to hug her sister tightly.
"This is a lot to take in." She murmured. "And I'm not sure myself what I think about it. But I do know you don't tell lies, Sasami-chan. And so I believe you."
"That means a lot to know, Ayeka-onechan. It really does. A whole lot."
"Is Father very cross about last night?"
"No...I think he just thinks I'm crazy, or sick, or both." Sasami sighed, sinking back against her pillows. "He took the gems and Uncle Azusa sent me off to bed. He told me not to think about it again - pretend it didn't happen or something, I suppose."
"Well, I expect they're scared." Ayeka said sensibly. "I have to admit that it scares me a little, if you're right about all of this. You're so young, Sasami."
"I wish she'd just tell me straight what she wants me to do." Sasami looked pensive. "But I think that she can't...not properly. I mean, she's there and sometimes I feel it's like she's with me. Telling me things. Directing me towards something. As if Jurai were in danger in a big way."
"The prophesy mentions that one day she will rise again." Ayeka said thoughtfully. "It doesn't mean she's going to do it yet, Sasami. Maybe she's waiting until you're older. Maybe there is no danger. Not yet. Maybe she's just getting to know you a little better."
Sasami bit her lip.
"But if she comes back, I won't be Sasami any more." She whispered. "I don't want to stop being Sasami, Ayeka. I don't want to become someone else, and have her dreams and memories instead of my own. I want to be your sister and make my own choices and decisions. I've always been happy because you were older than me and I knew I wasn't ever going to have to be Crown Princess or marry someone because Daddy thought it would be right. I wanted to make my own choices and do my own things, growing up. And now I'm not going to, am I? I'll grow up into Tsunami, not Sasami. It will be like...like Sasami dies."
She spoke with such adult solemnity that Ayeka shot her sister a startled look, but there were tears trickling down the young girl's face.
"I just want to be Sasami." She repeated softly. "Not Tsunami. Sasami."
Ayeka hesitated for a moment. Then she hugged her sister tightly again.
"Whatever happens, you will always be Sasami to me." She promised gently. "And we don't really know anything, yet. Tsunami may not have chosen you for that. She might just be using you now because she's found she can talk to you. We can't jump to conclusions. Besides, Tsunami-sama is our Tree of Life. She's everything that's good about Jurai. She's peaceful...and she wouldn't take over and erase someone's life just for her own ends. I'm sure it won't mean that, Sasami. I'm sure it will be all right and she'll help you to understand."
"Washu called me Tsunami-sama, when I told her I could find the other gem and take it to Karasu." Sasami buried her head in Ayeka's shoulder. "She said it was who I would one day become. She seemed pretty sure, Ayeka...that she thought I was Tsunami's chosen one."
"Washu isn't even from this planet. I doubt she knows more about Tsunami than we do." Ayeka said matter of factly. "So dry your tears and don't get upset, Sasami. Whatever happened last night, it's over now and Father isn't cross. It will blow over, and it's almost my wedding. You will try and be happy for that, won't you? Because you know how difficult it will be for me, and I will need you to be strong for me then too."
"I know." Sasami pulled back, reaching up to wipe her tears. "And I will be, Ayeka-onechan. I promise."
"Good." Ayeka smiled. "Then it will all be okay. Sasami, I'm sure it will. So don't worry. It will all be okay."
"I hope it will." Sasami looked troubled. "Thank you for believing me."
"Of course." Ayeka nodded her head. "Now you get some rest and stop worrying about it all. Tsunami watches over all of us, remember that? She wouldn't mean any of us harm."
"I guess so." Sasami nodded. "Yes. I know you're right. Thank you, Ayeka. I feel a bit better now."
"Good." Ayeka stood. "I must go. My time is not my own these last few days and it's most trying."
She sighed, glancing absently across the room to the window and the grounds beyond.
"Although it does manage to distract me from other things going on in the palace." She added softly. "You know that Ryoko's pardon is official now? She's free to leave Jurai whenever she likes."
Understanding flickered into Sasami's eyes.
"With Tenchi?" She asked softly. Ayeka nodded.
"That's what I expect." She agreed. "But then, that's the only way it can be, isn't it? I can't be greedy and I can't prevent it. I'm marrying a good man and I can't avoid it, just to follow my own selfish whims. Jurai means more to me than that."
"I like Tenchi too, Ayeka. I'll miss him as well." Sasami reminded her. Ayeka looked pained.
"I know." She said quietly. "But it's not quite the same. I've felt so guilty for being so apprehensive about my marriage, I've found myself doing everything I can to make it easier for him to leave Jurai with her. And now it's all done, I feel somewhat empty. That it's all over, at long last...everything we've been through together. Even though we'll always be good friends, Sasami...I will be here, and he won't be. And after so many happy times on the Earth, that makes me sad."
"Me too." Sasami nodded her head. She paused, then, "I haven't spoken to Tenchi about Tsunami, Ayeka. I don't think I want him to know - actually, I'd rather you didn't tell anyone else. If Father thinks I'm going mad then I don't want other people to think it too."
"Oh, I promise." Ayeka told her gently. "I won't mention it to anyone - this was just a sister chat, nothing else. And I know you're not crazy. I know you better than that, Sasami-chan."
"I know you do." Sasami managed a faint smile. "Bye, Ayeka. Thank you for coming to see me. You helped a whole lot."
"I'm glad to hear it." Ayeka returned the smile with a warm one of her own. "Goodbye, Sasami-chan. Rest well."
With that she withdrew from the bedroom, casting Kamadake a distracted smile as she made her way sedately back towards her own room. Her mind ran carefully through everything Sasami had told her, and she pushed her door shut behind her, leaning up against it. Azaka was nowhere to be seen, and inwardly she thanked her lucky stars for the moment of solitude.
"Perhaps I will spend some time in the library also." She muttered to herself. "Because if something is happening to my little sister, I want to know what it is!"
--
Once she was alone, Sasami set aside her puzzle, pushing back her covers and trotting to the balcony, heedless of the fact she was still dressed in her night-clothes. For a moment she just stood there, letting the breeze ripple through her long hair. Then with a sigh she returned to the bed, tidying her covers and moving to sit down on top of them. As she did so, her pillow slid away from her and she reached over to pick it up. As she did so, however, her hand closed around something small and hard and she frowned, pulling the object out and looking at it.
She let out a gasp, dropping it as if it was made of burning metal. Before her on the bed lay the silver container which had fallen from her gown the night before, and which her Father had returned to their rightful place.
"But what are they doing here?" She whispered. "I didn't pick them up. I couldn't have! They were there...with Father. And I know I didn't leave my room again last night, because Kamadake has been outside my door ever since those women brought me back here. So how?"
She reached over a tentative finger, touching the case lightly.
"Tsunami, are you trying to get me into trouble?" She demanded out loud. "I know you did this! I don't know how, but you're starting to make me really mad!"
As if in answer, there was the sound of tree branches swaying and rustling in the breeze, and then a single word flitted across her senses, barely more than a whisper on the wind.
Sasami frowned, sinking down on her bed as she turned the capsule over in her hand. Slowly she traced a line along the back, pausing as she remembered something from the previous night. An image, then a word, then the image again, all merged together in her senses like some subconscious direction. She bit her lip, tightening her grip on the capsule.
"Washu." She whispered.
