Chapter Seven
"Hey, what's with the picture?"
Ryoko glanced up from where she had been sprawled in the palace grounds, the old parchment spread out before her on the grass. She offered a grin, beckoning for him to join her, and Tenchi obediently dropped down at her side, peering at the star chart with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.
"It's not a picture." Ryoko explained, as he shot her a clueless look. "It's a star chart. Surely you've been on enough space trips now to know that we don't just randomly hit buttons and end up in the right places. Everything's mapped."
She gestured.
"This particular chart is of the Northern sector of Jurai territory." She added. "Azusa gave it to me when I saw him yesterday. I don't know what was going through his mind, exactly, but I think it was supposed to be a peace offering. It maps the journey between Jurai and the planet where they found me originally. He said it was in case I wanted to trace my roots or somesuch thing."
"I see." Tenchi squinted at the map, tilting his head to one side. "I don't understand how this tells you that, but I'm prepared to believe it does. So are you going to go there, then? Find out about your mother?"
"No, not really." Ryoko shook her head. "I mean, she's dead, so there's not much point. I was just looking to see if this showed a quicker way out of Jurai space, when we head to Earth. It's pretty detailed and all, and I don't have anything as detailed of this sector among Ryo Ohki's databanks."
She paused, eying him doubtfully.
"We...are still going to the Earth, right?" She asked hesitantly. "You and me...when Ayeka gets married?"
"I thought we were." Tenchi nodded. "Now you can speak to Ryo Ohki again, I thought that was the plan. You promised me a trip through space, I know that - but it's a long way between Jurai and Earth, and we don't have to make it a direct route. Yes, Ryoko. I thought that was what we were doing."
"Good." Relief flickered in Ryoko's eyes and she sent him a mischievous grin. "I just wanted to make sure I hadn't imagined that bit. You were so easy to convince, I thought I'd better check - after all, everything has been surprisingly easy since we first got here."
She shrugged.
"Even Ayeka seems to have gone out of her way to clear the path." She added. "Which I can't even explain, but never mind. I'm not complaining about it."
"Ayeka is a good friend." Tenchi told her with a smile. "And sometimes friends understand things without being told."
"Perhaps." Ryoko pursed her lips, resting her chin in her hands. "But you know what? I wouldn't be so understanding in her place, Tenchi. I admit it. I'm more selfish than that. If she'd managed to spirit you away, well, I don't suppose I would have been able to forgive it quite that easily. Is that a horrible thing to say, days before she gets married? Because it's the truth. If you'd chosen Ayeka, I don't know what I would have done about it."
Tenchi raised an eyebrow.
"We're back to this idea of choosing again, and I thought we'd dropped that a long time back." He chided her, amusement in his eyes. "I didn't choose between you and Ayeka at all, not by any stretch of the imagination. You both may have thought that was how things were, but I assure you, they never were to me."
"Never?" Ryoko tilted her head, eying him in surprise. "Even when we were both of us there, arguing and sparring and whatever else?"
"Ryoko, that drove me crazy." Tenchi laughed. "I didn't want to make any choices between people I cared about and I still don't want to be in that situation."
He reached over to touch her cheek.
"I didn't choose you over Ayeka." He murmured. "I just fell in love with you. That's all. Nothing else. It wasn't a battle or a choice. It was just...how it worked out."
Ryoko pinkened, dropping her gaze.
"I guess that's the bit of it I'm having trouble with." She admitted. "Why me? I do nothing to help out around the house. I don't cook or clean and my manners - well, let's just say even Azusa called me up on them. I drink too much, and I've a criminal record as long as the solar system. I fly, I teleport, I walk through walls. I blow things up when I'm angry."
She looked rueful.
"Listen to me." She said sheepishly. "How to convince Tenchi he's made the world's biggest mistake."
"Ryoko, I know you. Those things are things I already knew." Tenchi grinned. "Besides, you told me you didn't intend to fall in love. Neither did I. But time passes and things change. Absence makes things clearer. I missed you like you wouldn't believe. I even missed your hangovers. I missed nagging you about sweeping leaves. I missed you giving me a heart attack by appearing at random and making me jump. I missed seeing you perched on top of the roof or up a tree or wherever other crazy place you'd decided to spend the day."
He spread his hands.
"When I came aboard Yagami and you cold-shouldered me, I didn't like it much." he admitted. "And then when I thought the battle aboard Karasu had killed you..."
He faltered, letting the sentence hang, and a shadow touched Ryoko's expression.
"I was cold to you aboard Yagami. I'm sorry for that." She admitted. "I suppose I wasn't mentally prepared to see you, and I really did think you liked Ayeka."
"I do like Ayeka."
"You know that's not what I mean."
"Well, you know better now." Tenchi reminded her. No mixed signals. Besides, I'm not so young now as I was. Things change."
"Maybe they do." Ryoko looked thoughtful. "You know, it's been so long since I first promised you this trip, Tenchi. So much has happened and there have been so many times I've thought 'thats it'. But it never really has been. Even if you had chosen Ayeka, I have this feeling I wouldn't have given up on you. At least, I hope I wouldn't. Even if I'd had to kidnap you from the palace the night before the wedding."
"You're joking with me. I know that face." Tenchi nudged her playfully. "You wouldn't really have gone to those lengths, if I had fallen in love with someone else."
"Wouldn't I?" Ryoko arched her eyebrow at him. "I'm a pirate, Tenchi. Stealing is what I do. Or well, I suppose it's 'did', now. I gave my word to Azusa that I wouldn't be a pirate any more. And since he seems to be fine with the whole evil nephew's illegitimate daughter spending time with his great grandson...I think it's a promise I'd better keep. At least for the time being."
"I'd appreciate that." Tenchi's eyes twinkled. "I'm not sure how Grandfather would feel if our home became the base for an intergalactic crime ring."
Ryoko laughed, stretching out on the grass. She leant over to pick a flower, toying with it in her fingers.
"I tend to work alone, mostly." She told him. "Like I've said before, I'm not the best one for company."
"You don't think you'll be bored, on the Earth?" Tenchi asked. Ryoko frowned.
"I've never been bored there before." She reminded him. "Why would I be now?"
"Well, we won't be in the midst of saving the universe or foiling Washu's latest scientific freak show." Tenchi pursed his lips. "I'll be in college still, I'll have my chores and my assignments. It will be, well, normal. Is that something you can deal with?"
"You mean you'd rather I didn't fly in front of your college friends, or teleport around the mountainside too much if you have guests?" Ryoko grinned. Tenchi nodded.
"Something along those lines."
"I guess we'll see. My magic isn't one hundred percent yet, anyhow. It's getting there, but it's not quite right. I managed to walk into a door earlier, instead of through it, but other than that, I think I'm more or less back to normal. It took time...but I think I'm about good to go in most respects."
"No more subconscious teleports?"
"No, sadly." Ryoko laughed. "None of those. Though I did think very seriously about making an impromptu trip to the baths yesterday morning."
"You are impossible." Tenchi sighed. "I'm glad you didn't succeed. Azusa and Ayeka's father Haru were both there at the time, with a few other people from the court. It might have been more than they could deal with."
Ryoko chuckled appreciatively, turning her attention back to the map.
"It seems straight forward enough to get out this way." She remarked. "If we left Jurai this way, and plotted our course through that sector instead of trying to bypass the old palace...we could probably cut a few hours off journey time. Once we're away from Jurai space, well, there's a whole universe out there, Tenchi. And since I'm no longer Public Enemy Number One, we shouldn't have any trouble visiting any of it."
"So long as it doesn't include trips to seedy space bars, I'm in." Tenchi looked amused. "That's an experience I don't want to repeat. I've no idea what was in that drink, but I'm telling you, one sip made me feel strange."
"You're just not used to hard alcohol." Ryoko eyed him contemplatively. "That could probably be changed...but in truth, I think I like you how you are."
"What's this planet?" Tenchi ignored the teasing, reaching across to indicate a planet at the furthest corner of the map. "That's practically outside Jurai space, isn't it?"
"On the border." Ryoko nodded. "That's the planet Azusa and Haru went to, the one they found me on. Yubisu, I think it's called. Some outpost planet at the edge of their world. It's not important."
"You really have no interest in going there, do you?" Tenchi asked. Ryoko shook her head.
"Why would I?"
"Well, no reason, I guess." Tenchi pursed his lips. "Except that if someone told me I could find information about my mother by going to some planet or other..."
"So we're different where things like this are concerned." Ryoko shrugged. "I don't dwell on the past and believe me, Tenchi, it's the way distant past. None of it matters to me, and that's the truth. I have the memories back, which is all that really does."
"I guess it's your call." Tenchi conceded. "All right. I'm glad you can understand that thing, anyway. It's dots and colours to me."
"Something for me to teach you, then." Ryoko laughed. "I'm sure Ryo Ohki would give you flying lessons."
"I'm not sure I'm cut out for flying a spacecraft." Tenchi shook his head decidedly. Ryoko shrugged.
"But that's the fun of it." She told him. "There are lots of things you never know you like until you try them."
Tenchi raised an eyebrow, and Ryoko offered him an innocent smile.
"Sometimes..." Tenchi began, then he shook his head, grimacing. "You're winding me up again."
"Did I say something wrong?" Ryoko's eyes became big. Tenchi pulled a face at her.
"You know exactly what you said."
"That it'd be fun if you learnt to fly." Mischief sparkled in the golden eyes, and despite himself, Tenchi laughed.
"Behave." He ordered her. "You said you would, so prove it. I told you. There's no rush."
"I know. But teasing you is so much fun." Ryoko told him unrepentantly. She folded the map in half and half again, setting it to one side and rolling over onto her back, gazing up at the cloudless sky. "And besides, even if we did go to Earth and we were there, you know, properly...it wouldn't mean we couldn't take Ryo Ohki up into the stars once in a while. I mean, she'll be there with us."
She bit her lip, casting him a sidelong glance.
"It doesn't bother you any, knowing that, by the way?" She asked. Tenchi looked confused.
"Why would it bother me if Ryo Ohki was with us?" He wondered. "I like Ryo Ohki! Sure, it's a huge drain on the vegetable garden, and we do wind up growing a lot of carrots. But I don't see why I would mind."
"Well, I meant because...you know Ryo Ohki and I are connected." Ryoko put her hands behind her head, a thoughtful look crossing her face. "She's always there, really. At the back of my mind. Unless something is wrong or is blocking the connection, I can feel her pretty much all the time. I know where she is and she knows where I am. Also, what I'm doing. And what I'm thinking, too, sometimes. It's not like mental talking, exactly, but she picks up signals and vibes from me and I pick them up from her."
She pursed her lips.
"Which means technically speaking, I'm never alone." She added with a smile. "And we have a built in chaperone."
"I see." Tenchi was silent for a moment. Then a wicked look touched his expression. "But I dare say there's not much that will surprise Ryo Ohki, considering how long she's been with you."
"Hey! That wasn't fair!" Ryoko protested, and Tenchi laughed.
"You can dish it out but you can't take it." He teased. "Your face is a picture. And you know I'm right. Nothing that happens on the Earth will shock Ryo Ohki."
"That's almost disappointing." Ryoko pulled herself up into a sitting position. "I guess I'll have to work on changing that, won't I?"
Tenchi eyed her for a moment.
"We'll see." He said softly. Before she knew it, he was kissing her, and almost without thinking she responded, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Something tells me you two need a chaperone."
Washu's voice startled them apart, and Ryoko glared up at the scientist with a look of indignation.
"What do you want?" She demanded.
"Where's Ryo Ohki?" Washu returned her look with one of amusement. "Surely she should be making sure you naughty children behave yourself, considering this is the Royal Palace of Jurai."
"Hi, Washu." Tenchi sat back on his hands, casting her a grin, though Ryoko noted that his cheeks had a reddish tint to them. "What's up?"
"You mean aside from the fact she has lousy timing?" Ryoko grunted, shuffling back into a sitting position and folding her arms across her chest. "Spit it out, will you? We were having a private conversation."
"You were having a private something." Washu's eyes bored into Ryoko's, interest flickering somewhere in their depths. "But actually, I wasn't looking for you at all. I just happened to cross this way to get back to the palace - I didn't realise there'd be lawnside entertainment!"
"Washu!" Sparks flew from Ryoko's fingers at this, but Tenchi put a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head.
"Don't." He warned. "Remember where we are and whose good graces you want to stay in?"
Ryoko's expression became mutinous, but she obediently lowered her hands, fixing Washu with a decidedly unfriendly glare.
"If you don't want anything, go away." She said flatly. "You've completely ruined the mood now, you know."
"Well, that's what a good chaperone does, you know." Washu said lightly. "You're welcome."
"Washu! Washu-chan! Oh, I'm so glad I found you!"
Sasami's voice drifted across the grounds at that moment and Ryoko groaned, flopping down onto her back.
"Now the whole world is coming to join the party." She muttered. "Ten to one Mihoshi and Kiyone will be next."
"Hi Ryoko. Hi, Tenchi." Sasami flashed the couple a smile, oblivious to the dark expression on the pirate's face. "Washu-chan, can I speak to you for a moment? It's kinda important and, well, private, really. Do you mind?"
"No, of course not, Sasami." Washu flashed the young girl a grin, then turned back to Ryoko, her eyes twinkling.
"All right, soldier. As you were." She said playfully. Ryoko sent her the most poisonous glare she could muster, but Washu just laughed, slipping her hand into the young princess's and leading her away across the grass.
For a moment there was silence, then Tenchi began to laugh.
"We need to pick our places better." He observed wryly. Ryoko grimaced.
"You can laugh at it." She said flatly. "If you ask me, we don't get enough chances while we're here and everyone else is buzzing around us."
"Well, Ayeka gets married in a couple of days." Tenchi reminded her, getting to his feet and holding out his hand to her. Reluctantly she accepted it, allowing him to pull her to her feet. "So grin and bear it for now, huh? We've got a long trip ahead of us, don't forget."
"Believe me, I'm not likely to." Ryoko sighed. "And at long last then I can have you all to myself!"
--------------------------
"I'm sorry for interrupting you, Washu-chan."
Across the grounds, Sasami cast her companion a troubled look, kicking her toes idly against the blades of grass as they walked. "I didn't know you were with Ryoko and Tenchi."
"Oh, I'm sure they're glad to be rid of me." A smile played around the corner of Washu's mouth. "Don't fret about it, Sasami. I'm sure it's fine by them that you spirited me away."
"I see." Sasami's eyes became big, then, "Washu, do you think Tenchi will marry Ryoko?"
"I have no idea." Washu shrugged her shoulders. "But they need to be more careful about how they conduct themselves in a public place. That's all I'm saying. Ryoko might have been locked up for a few years, but she needs to keep a lid on it."
Sasami giggled.
"You sound like her mother when you talk like that." She said, amused. "You really do, you know."
"Do I?" Washu looked self-conscious. "Well, whaddya know? I guess there is something in the genes after all."
She glanced up at the trees that shaded their walk, then across at the young girl at her side.
"What is all this about, Sasami?" She asked softly. "You didn't call me out here to talk about Tenchi and Ryoko, I know that."
"No...I didn't." Sasami's levity faded and she frowned, dropping her gaze to the ground. "Washu, did you hear about what happened last night? In the royal vault?"
"I heard a commotion and I know something was going on in that part of the palace." Washu looked thoughtful, then, "I had some data readings go off the scale actually, not long before the first alarms went off. Why? I don't know any more about what actually happened - everyone seems very tight-lipped on the subject this morning."
"Well..."
Sasami bit her lip, then,
"It was me who was down there. I mean, Tsunami made me go, but I was there." She said finally. "And I think she sent me there to take something...something she doesn't think should be there."
"I see." Washu's brows drew together in a frown. "Your father knows about this?"
"He's not happy. He thinks I'm mad or sleepwalking or both." Sasami sighed. "I don't know which."
"What did Tsunami ask you to take, Sasami-chan?"
Sasami hesitated for a moment, casting a glance around her. Then she slid her fingers into the folds of her gown, pulling out the small silver capsule. Washu let out an exclamation, reaching to take it from her.
"These are the crystals that Ryoko had during the battle with Haki, aren't they?" She asked sharply. "The gems Kagato messed with - the Dark Heart and it's sister stones."
"Yes." Sasami nodded her head. "I feel bad, Washu. Like I've taken something that I shouldn't have done. But Father took them from me, when they found me down there. I don't know how they got into my room - they just did."
"And now you're confused about what to do?" Washu pursed her lips. "You can't speak to either of your parents?"
"Not really. They seem to be in denial...especially Father."
"Ayeka?"
"I did speak to Ayeka and she seemed to understand better." Sasami nodded. "But Washu-chan, that was before I found those in my chamber. I haven't told anyone else that I still have them...because I think Tsunami wants me to give them to you."
"To me?" Washu was taken aback. "Why? Sasami, are you sure about that? I'm not from Jurai. I can't even touch these stones. Why would Tsunami want me to take them? It doesn't make any sense."
"To me either, but I know that's what she wants." Sasami nodded. "I'm positive about it, Washu."
She sighed.
"She doesn't always make sense." She added. "But she was very clear in her instruction, if nothing else."
"I see." Washu ran a finger over the top of the case, then slid it into her pocket. "In that case, I had better not argue with you. But I don't really have a use for these gems. In fact, I'm surprised Tsunami didn't send them to Ryoko. After all, she's the one they bonded to."
"Maybe she did." Sasami looked thoughtful. "You're Ryoko's mother, after all."
"Ryoko doesn't know that, and nor does anyone else but you and me." Washu said warningly. "And Tsunami, evidently. But why would that make a difference? Ryoko and I lead very seperate lives."
Sasami did not answer right away, and for a while they walked in silence beneath the trees. Then, at length, the small girl glanced up.
"Tsunami thinks that you're the only one who knows what they should be used for." She said softly. "I can't explain it, Washu, but that's how she feels. Like you understand them better than anyone else. And if they should ever be needed, you'll know how to make sure they're used. Father and Uncle Azusa don't know about their secrets or your work with Kagato to alter them and make them more powerful. I think that's why. She thinks you'll know how to use them best."
"Well, I'll have to have faith in the Goddess, even though I think she's crackers." Washu sighed. "Sasami, tell me something. Has Tsunami told you anything about why she's doing all these things to you? The dreams, and everything else?"
"No." Sasami shook her head. "I think sometimes she finds it harder to talk to me than other times. But I found a book in the library that said she'd come back to protect Jurai and you called me Tsunami-sama, when we were aboard Yagami. You think something bad is coming too, don't you?"
"It has occured to me." Washu admitted. "Sasami, I don't know if I feel right about talking this out with you. You might be Tsunami's chosen one but you're still so young and there's a lot that I don't understand. But if I don't talk to you about it, well, who else is there to talk to? If this is why Tsunami's been disturbed, then you should know everything that I can tell you. Which isn't a lot, not really."
She paused, meeting the young princess's gaze.
"If only you weren't still so young." She murmured.
"I don't feel that young." Sasami admitted. "Sometimes I feel much much older, Washu-chan. Other times I feel like I'm still a kid, and I don't understand or I get scared. But it's been confusing lately. Sometimes I do feel older than I am, you know. I think it's her, trying to make me understand something. I don't like it, but I can't stop it from happening."
"Then there's somewhere you and I must visit." Washu said quietly. "Do you remember our conversation about Souja? Kagato's dying tree?"
"Yes." Sasami nodded her head. "You said he was dying, but not dead, and that you weren't sure whether Kagato still lived."
"That's right." Washu looked impressed. "Good girl. Well, I went out to see Souja for myself yesterday morning. It was as I expected. He is alive, but badly deformed and twisted, not like a true tree of Jurai by any stretch of the imagination. I did some readings, Sasami, and I tried to pick up his life signs. I did so, but found something else there too. Something dark, sleeping deep inside of him. I can't discover what that something is...I can't get close enough to take samples or do any further analyses. Besides, I think this stretches beyond science. I'm not sure there is a rational explanation for what's going on inside that tree."
Sasami's eyes became huge with fear and alarm.
"You think Kagato is inside Souja?" She whispered. Washu shrugged her shoulders.
"Kagato is dead." She said simply. "His body is interred in the crypt, his name erased from Jurai's history. His legend over."
"But...?"
"But something is in there, and living like a parasite on Souja's energy, deforming it." Washu said sadly. Sasami shivered.
"That's creepy."
"Yes, it is." Washu agreed. "And I'm sorry to bring you into it. It's not the kind of thing you should be worrying about."
"But you think Tsunami should be?"
"I think she already is." Washu admitted. "That's why she's been bothering you so much lately. I think she knows more about this than any of us."
Sasami pursed her lips.
"I've had dreams about Souja." She remembered. "And once, Tsunami spelt out his name for me in scraps of paper, when we were flying in Yagami. I think you're right, Washu. And I think I should go see this tree, also. Even if it is scary."
"I'm glad you feel that way." Washu smiled. "All right then. Let's go."
