Chapter Ten

"Well, and good riddance to her."

As Ryo Ohki wheeled away from Washu's space station, Ryoko let out a sigh, running her fingers through her hair as she navigated the ship back on to her original course. "I have to say I like her nerve. Coming on board like that, without even asking, and bringing those damn things on with her. What was she trying to do to me, Tenchi? Drive me nuts?"

"Washu's a strange woman sometimes." Tenchi acknowledged. "But she does usually do things for a reason."

"Unfortunately those reasons aren't comprehensible by most people." Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Oh, I hate this. She's got me all wound up now. I'm not a coward - how dare she call me one? What kind of a coward puts on a show against a pirate like Haki, huh? I didn't see me running from a fight then! She has some nerve! And what was all that destiny stuff? You know, after I told her where to stuff those stupid gems, she barely even looked me in the eye for the whole time we were heading here. A major route diversion, and she didn't even say thank you."

"Woah!" Tenchi held up his hands. "Calm down! Don't you think you're taking this just a little bit too seriously?"

"Am I?" Ryoko looked startled. Then she groaned. "Maybe I am. No, you're right. I definitely am. But it rankled with me, Tenchi. How dare she say those things to me?"

"You're not a coward and Washu knows that." Tenchi assured her. "Whatever she was trying to achieve, I guess we'll probably never know. But there's no sense in you worrying about it."

"Spouting all kinds of nonsense about Kagato and my destiny and God knows what else." Ryoko dropped down into the pilot's seat, clearly not taking notice of her companion's advice. "It makes no sense, Tenchi. None at all. Kagato might have been my father but number one, he's dead. You killed him. We know that. Number two, even if he wasn't by some fluke dead or he'd taken up being a zombie for a living, I can't beat him. I can't even get close to him. The last time I did, he basically swatted me and let's just say it hurt a fair bit when he did. Number three - those gems are evil and dangerous and the effect they have on my magic might be fine in the very short term but in the long term the opposite is true. They make me tired and it's hard to control them when I do have them near me. So they're counter productive. They make me not really know my own body. And Number four..."

"Number four, you're still worrying about it." Tenchi interrupted her gently, reaching down to pull her to her feet. "Ryoko, listen to me. This isn't important. You're right on every count. Kagato hurt you before and there's no reason to suggest he wouldn't again. You're a strong fighter, we both know that. Really strong. And brave. But it took Jurai power to defeat him the last time, in huge quantities. Your magic is different. It's not pure Jurai power, it's something else as well. Washu isn't being logical. I think whatever she found out on Jurai maybe scared her and she had a knee jerk reaction. That's all. You shouldn't take it to heart."

"It was the way she talked about people following their destiny...and said the gems were part of mine." Ryoko admitted. "Like she knew...something. Like there was something to know...if that makes any sense? I thought I had my memories all back and everything slotted in where it should be. But now...I just don't know. I'm confused by it and it's shaken me up."

She sighed.

"So much for a fun, carefree trip across space. Thanks, Washu."

Tenchi hesitated for a moment. Then he reached down to scoop up Azusa's star chart.

"We could take another detour." He suggested softly. Ryoko looked startled.

"Huh?"

"Yubisu." Tenchi tapped the map with his index finger. "Isn't that where Azusa said they found you?"

"Yes. So?"

"Maybe there's some clue there to all of this. You never know."

"What, go hunting for a long dead woman who may or may not have known anything about this stuff?" Ryoko grimaced. "Seems like a wild goose chase to me."

"But if she was your mother, and Kagato was your father, there must have been some connection between them." Tenchi said sensibly. "Stands to reason, doesn't it, when you think about it like that? Chances are she did know something. If she was murdered, she must have done."

He slipped his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder, thinking over his words.

"I suppose so." She acknowledged. "It makes sense that she was killed on his orders, for something she knew about him."

She frowned, creasing her brow.

"I don't remember the men who came, not very well." She said slowly. "All I do remember is thinking they might be thieves or bandits because they made Mother upset. They were dressed all in black, though. I know that. And they looked through me, like I wasn't even there. I don't know why they didn't kill me too...but it was like they didn't even see me. They just went after Mother and well, they killed her."

She closed her eyes, struggling to remember further.

"Black costume, but like Knights of Jurai." She remembered haltingly. "Like...Azaka or Kamadake, but not them, of course. It was like...like their mirror images, but not. Does that make sense?"

Tenchi's brow knitted together.

"Yes. Only too well." He said grimly. "When I fought Kagato - actually, on my way to the throne room - we encountered two such knights. They were pawns or associates of his, dressed in black. I remember one had long, flowing hair. The other looked like something of a brute. I don't recall their names, but I do remember that Azaka and Kamadake took care of them while I headed on to find Ayeka."

"Then they were associated with my father." Ryoko said softly. "Which means that she must have been killed because she knew something. They weren't just random thieves...but something else. I don't know why I always thought they were, though. Maybe because they took something. Mother was looking for something...something in her music box. She said that whatever it was was missing, and then she started to tell me something. She never finished what she was going to say, though, and I was too young to really understand."

She frowned, glancing at her fingers.

"Gee. Guess I do remember."

"Do you want to go to Yubisu, then?" Tenchi asked. "It's not like we have anything else more pressing on our agenda, after all."

"No, this is true." Ryoko sighed. "But go to a planet full of ghosts? My most vivid memory of Mother is her lying there in her room, covered in blood while I couldn't do anything to help her. Do I really want to go back to that place now? What if I remember more disturbing things than that? I don't like digging up the past. It's over. Happened. History. I don't want to relive it. Not really."

"So we're not going to Yubisu?"

"No...we are." Ryoko rubbed her temples. "Because you're right and there are too many questions. If there's something going on behind my back, I want to know about it. I don't know squat about my mother or about what her involvement with Kagato was, but obviously it was something more than a romantic liason, unless he was really cheesed off with her leaving and running off to a distant planet like she did. Or must have done. Yubisu is a long way from Jurai, when you think about it. Practically on top of the checkpoint...so close to the outer reaches that people from there have to pass through that checkpoint to get to Jurai, even though it's a colony."

She sighed.

"Though what we'll find there is anyone's guess. It's been a lot of years, Tenchi. We might find the house, but I'll be surprised if we find anything else. I don't even know what her last name is. Just that her name was Kichi. That's all."

"Well, unless we go there, we won't know." Tenchi pointed out. Ryoko nodded.

"Yes, I know." She acknowledged wearily, reaching out her fingers for Ryo Ohki's control panel. "All right, Ryo Ohki. About turn. We're heading back towards Yubisu."

------------------------

"I can't believe they're really gone."

Sasami sent her mother a mournful look, gripping her hand tightly as they walked in the palace grounds. "Mother, it seems so strange now, and quiet, too. I don't like it this way, with Ayeka gone across Jurai and now Tenchi and Ryoko and Washu having left us as well. Kiyone and Mihoshi flew back to Headquarters this morning, also. Now there's just me here and it feels strange. I don't like it."

"You're not on your own, Sasami-chan." Misaki glanced down at her daughter, her heart clenching at the melancholy expression in the young girl's eyes. "Father is here and so am I. And Azaka and Kamadake are always here, too. You know you like to spend time with them. You mustn't think yourself abandoned, either. Ayeka and Takeru will return soon enough, and it will be like it was before. Don't fret, my darling. Everything will be all right."

"Maybe, but it won't be the same." Sasami sighed. "It can't be. Mother, why did they all leave so quickly? I don't understand it. I thought they were staying for all of Ayeka's wedding celebrations...but they went away almost as soon as she was married. I can't believe they didn't even say goodbye."

"Listen to me, Sasami-chan." Misaki said gently, resting her hand momentarily on her daughter's head. "You've had many adventures, but you are still young and this is your home. We are your family. Those acquaintances you had, well, they're gone back to their own worlds now and you have to look to the future in yours, instead. You're becoming a young lady, little by little. In time, it will be your turn to find a suitor, settle down and have your own household as an honoured Princess of Jurai. I pray I will be here to see that day, and your father also. We know that you will make us both as proud of you as we are of Ayeka."

"I know." Sasami fell silent for a moment, and Misaki sent her a sidelong glance as they walked on together through the forest towards one of Jurai's big glittering lakes. For a few minutes, neither spoke, as if both lost in their own thoughts. Then, as they drew closer to the water's edge, Sasami raised her gaze to her mother's once again.

"Will Father let me travel again, when I get older?" She asked plaintively. "I want to go to the Earth and see Tenchi sometimes. After all, he is our family too, you know. And do you think he'll let me have my ship back, also? Because I know it is mine, Mother, even if he doesn't realise it yet. If I'm growing up, he's got to start to trust me, hasn't he?"

"Sasami..." Misaki bit her lip, and something flickered in the depths of Sasami's crimson eyes.

"You don't want me to leave Jurai either, do you?" She asked softly. Misaki shook her head.

"I have one little girl gone so far from me already, because she is now a wife and things will be different." She admitted. "To lose you also, Sasami...would hurt more than I could bear. I can't lose you yet, my dear. One day, yes, you will marry and follow in your sister's footsteps. But for now...can you understand what it means to a mother, losing her child?"

Sasami looked surprised, then, after a moment of hesitation, she hugged her companion tightly. Misaki returned the hug, relief welling inside of her as she did so. She smiled.

"You do understand, then." She said softly. "Nothing Father or I say or do is meant to hurt you, Sasami-chan. We both love you so very much, that's all. And we worry for you. There is no reason to grow up too fast. There is time enough ahead of you to explore space or do the other things you're so eager to do. Right now, you don't need to worry about those things. You're a young girl and there's much for you still to experience. Let it come to you in time...let it come naturally. Don't try to rush ahead. The age gap between you and Ayeka has always made you try to emulate her more than you probably should. But you are not Ayeka, Sasami. You are Sasami and there is no hurry."

Sasami bit her lip.

"What if I don't grow up to be Sasami?" She whispered. "Mother, what if that's not who I'm meant to be at all?"

"I don't understand." Confusion marred Misaki's brow. "Who else would you grow up to be, Sasami?"

"It's hard to explain." Sasami sighed, kicking at the ground, and despite herself, a chill touched Misaki's soul at her daughter's words. "And you and Father don't want to listen to it, anyway. It doesn't matter whether you call it something else or pretend it isn't happening. I know that it is and I can't do anything about it. Mother, Washu didn't take me to Souja's tree against my will. I wanted to go there. I knew I needed to. Tsunami..."

"Enough about Tsunami." Misaki cut across her, holding up her hands. "You already know that that's not something we should be discussing. It's a wild whim of imagination, that's all. Nothing else, Sasami. Nothing more. If that strange woman put the idea into your head, well, she's gone now and you can forget about it. You have nothing to worry about. Everything is fine."

Sasami took a few paces forward to the very edge of the lake, standing solemnly on the banks as she gazed into the ripples. She did not reply at first, but something in her sober expression made Misaki's heart lurch in her throat.

"Sasami?" She murmured. "Come away from there. It's dangerous - you might fall in."

"I can swim." Sasami spoke almost absently. "And besides, I'm not so very close to the edge, Mother. Not yet, anyway."

Misaki came to her daughter's side, opening her lips to speak again, but as she did so, the words died on her tongue and horror flooded through her as her gaze rested on the surface of the water. Sasami stood beside her on the bank, but in the ripples another form was at her side, taller and older, with long, flowing hair and the most formal of Juraian robes. Almost as an Empress would wear, she realised dully, as she struggled to comprehend what she was seeing. The flowing robes seemed to flitter in an imaginary breeze, and the girl's eyes, so full of gravity and concern, were mirror images of Sasami's own.

"Sasami?" She whispered. "What is happening to you?"

Sasami raised her gaze to her mother's.

"Can you see her too?" She asked, surprised. Wordlessly Misaki nodded her head.

"Who is she? What is this?" She demanded. "Sasami, what have you done to yourself - what kind of witchcraft is this?"

"Not witchcraft." Sasami shook her head. "I don't know, but I think she's me. I mean, she will be. When I'm older. When I...when I'm not Sasami any more."

Her words shook slightly, and fear flared in Misaki's heart. She took her daughter tightly in her arms, hugging her as if afraid someone was going to snatch her away.

"Sasami-chan, what do you mean?" She murmured. "Who else would you be but Sasami?"

"Tsunami. I told you." Sasami bit her lip. "Even if you don't want to believe it, Mother, now you've at least seen it's real. It's nothing Washu or anyone else has done to me. It's all Tsunami. She's trying to tell me something - to tell us something - and now everyone is gone and I'm all alone with it again."

She sighed, resting her head against her mother's body and Misaki ran agitated fingers through the young girl' hair.

"It's all so confusing and I don't understand enough to know what to do." She said sadly. "Washu was the only one who seemed to be able to explain to me what things meant. She didn't try and hurt me, Mother. I don't think she wanted to take me to Souja's tree, either. But I had to go, just like I have to have the dreams Tsunami sends me. Something is going to happen - something big, that will affect all of Jurai. I don't know what and I don't know how any of us can stop it. All I know is it's there."

"And the reflection?" Misaki cast a tentative look back at the water, but the image of the older woman was gone. Sasami shook her head.

"The future." She said simply. "That's all. I think it's the future."

Tears glistened in Misaki's eyes at this, and she redoubled her grip on her youngest child.

"Oh, Sasami." She whispered. "What is going to happen to you?"