Chapter 9
"You know, it would have been quicker if we'd have come to Osaka my way."
Ryoko stretched her arms over her head, stifling a yawn as she cast a glance across the busy, bustling platform of the city's central station. "I could have got us here in a split second and you know it...it would have been quick, clean and painless. Instead we get caught in a crowd of people, squashed almost flat on the train from Kurashiki and what that guy I was stuck next to had sprayed on his hair I dread to think. Whatever it is, it should be put in a capsule and sent into the nearest sun - the smell was awful."
"Well, we're here now, so no harm done." Tenchi shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Ryoko-chan. I know you hate travelling that way, but after what Washu said about anomalies in the atmosphere - well, I think it would be better if neither one of us used too much magic in the near future. At least, not until we know if we've been the cause of it."
"That's ridiculous." Ryoko snorted. "I've been teleporting around that mountain on and off for years. This has only sprung up recently. Like as not it has nothing to do with us and you're just being paranoid. Besides, we're only here to shop and stock up on supplies for the term ahead. It would have been cheaper and quicker to teleport to your apartment. I'm telling you, if money is tight, you shouldn't waste any on train tickets that really are not worth the yen."
"Or on station snacks when we're supposed to be finding our connection." Tenchi's gaze drifted to the apples in the bag that hung over Ryoko's wrist and she grimaced, shrugging her shoulders.
"So travelling earth-style makes me hungry." she said unrepentantly. "I told you. If we'd done it my way, it would have been cheaper. And the stallholder had an offer...apples were the cheapest thing I could get, so you shouldn't complain."
"I give up." Tenchi shook his head, looking amused. "You know, you didn't have to come today. Like you said, it's only a supply shop. It will probably be boring as hell for you, you know - and restrictive, since we're in a public place."
"Tenchi, my mother has set up home in your store cupboard again." Ryoko pulled a graphic face. "I could either come with you, or be poked, prodded and quizzed for hours by her on some random irrelevant topic. I know which one I'd rather do. Even if it means travelling the snail express and dragging round every store in Osaka."
"That's a good point." Tenchi looked rueful, glancing at his hands. "I have no idea what she discovered last night, taking samples and jabbing needles in me for three solid hours. But I hope it was worth it. I'd like to go back home tonight and find out the recent weirdness she's picked up is nothing to do with Light Hawk Wings. I'm starting to know how you feel. Washu is very..."
"Thorough?" Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "Tell me about it."
She frowned.
"Though why she had to strip you down to your shorts to do the tests, I'm still trying to figure out." She added. "Sometimes I think she does things just to be antagonistic. Do you ever get that feeling?"
"Sometimes I get the feeling we really don't know as much about Washu-san as we might like to." Tenchi agreed. Then he looked amused. "Or maybe it's just better that we don't know more than we already do. After all, they do say ignorance is bliss. And sometimes she can be rational and straight-forward like anyone else...but sometimes I really do think she's mad."
"I tend to assume the latter and hope for the former." Ryoko muttered. "Besides, at the moment she keeps babbling about some person called Clay - who, by the way, I've never heard of - and atmospheric data patterns. If she keeps on like this, she may lose any sanity she does still have in her head. I'm not totally sure I'm happy with her being on the Earth full time again, if you want to know the truth. I know we have Osaka to run away to soon, but surely Washu is the chaperone from hell?"
"Guess we'll find out." Tenchi winked at her. "In the meantime, come on. We've a long day ahead of us, and we don't want to miss our train back again. As it is we probably won't get back to the mountains till it's very late."
"Trains, trains, trains." Ryoko grimaced. "All right. I'm coming. But my way would still have got us here quicker."
Tenchi sent her a rueful smile, but did not reply. Instead he led the way out of the busy station and onto the main street, pausing for a moment to get his bearings, then heading towards the city centre.
"Can we stop somewhere and have a drink before we begin?" Ryoko asked hopefully. "Those trains are so hot and stuffy, you know...I'm parched dry."
"You have your apples." Tenchi pointed out.
"I know, but I meant a proper stop." Ryoko pursed her lips. "Come on, Tenchi. You did say there were lots of great pit stops in this city. And you really haven't shown me much around as yet. I know you have things to buy, but we do have plenty of time. And well, you did drag me on a horrible, dusty, stuffy train...surely I deserve a drink at the end of it?"
"Will you stop it?" Tenchi glared at her, but amusement danced in his dark brown eyes. "You're just trying to make me feel guilty, Ryoko-chan, and it's not going to work. You know as well as I do that both of us came back from Jurai different than when we left. The Light Hawk Wings affected both of us - so either one of us could be the cause of the anomalies Washu has detected. Now you can agree with me or disagree, that's fine - but you know I'm making sense. So let's drop the whole train trip thing for a while and get down to what we're meant to be doing, huh? You can stop for a drink at the apartment when we go back there...all right?"
"I suppose so." Ryoko sighed. "But you can't blame a girl for trying."
She glanced up and down the street, her gaze flitting across the various shop fronts as she did so. "You know, there seems to be a shop for everything in this place."
"Osaka is a big city. You know that."
"Yes, I know. That's not what I mean." Ryoko pursed her lips. "It just seems somehow to be...all here. I can't explain it, but walking down this street..."
A playful smile touched her lips.
"Your whole life could be in this street, if you never opened your eyes and looked outside it." She said teasingly, grabbing him by the arm. "Just think, if Kiyone hadn't broken me out of prison, and if Ayeka hadn't been kidnapped by Haki, this might have been your life, too."
"I don't know." Tenchi frowned, following her gaze. "I don't think so, Ryoko. Before Ryo Ohki first crashed to Earth, maybe. But I've seen way too much of what's outside to just focus on what's here all the time. I don't think it would have been quite that simple."
"Maybe you would have met a pretty, demure woman who would cook and clean and do everything for you without needing to be told." Ryoko suggested. Tenchi laughed.
"What, you mean I didn't?" He teased. Ryoko pulled a face at him.
"Pretty? Yes. Demure? Not a chance." she told him firmly. "But you could have done. Ever think of that?"
"Yeah, a few times." Tenchi nodded his head thoughtfully. "But you know what? After a while I think I'd have gotten bored. Whatever else I am with you, Ryoko-chan, I'm never bored."
Ryoko's eyes lit up with humour at this.
"I do my best." She said with a grin. "Hey...Tenchi? If I'm going to be staying in Osaka too, do I get to choose some of the things we buy?"
"I suppose that's fair, so long as you stay within budget." Tenchi nodded. "But we're only getting basic stuff...not refurnishing the whole apartment. Most of the bedding and whatever I can bring from home when we come down properly in a week or so's time. I'm just looking for things that need replacing or upgrading. That's all. I don't like to use my dad's friend's stuff - after all, it might get damaged and well, he is letting me use the place free of charge."
"Does he know about me yet?" Ryoko asked, linking her arm in his as they made their way into a big department store. Tenchi shook his head.
"I haven't told him I'm going to have a roommate." He admitted. "I figured in this case, the less he knew the better."
"Are you ashamed of me?" Ryoko raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not." Tenchi grimaced at her. "But some people have very traditional views about certain things. And I don't really want to find out he's one of them...and get kicked out into the street as a result. Do you?"
"Hrm." Ryoko frowned. "I guess we'll just keep it between ourselves, then."
"Yeah. Right." Tenchi agreed ruefully. "Hey, if you want to help - towels are on the next floor up. Do you think you can go take a look and pick two hand-towels without getting yourself into trouble?"
"You have so little faith." Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Just give me the money, Tenchi. I can do this, you know. I can live like an Earthling. It's not that hard."
"I'm sorry." Tenchi looked contrite. He fished into his pocket, pulling out his wallet and extracting a couple of bills, holding them out to her. "Here. Just don't choose something girly, okay? I have to use these too."
"Girly isn't really me either, you know." Ryoko pointed out. "I'll be right back. And yes, I'll walk, before you ask...I'm not going to blow anything, so don't worry about me."
"I wish I didn't have to." Tenchi muttered, watching her retreating figure as she disappeared into the crowd of busy shoppers. "But she's right, I do have to trust her and have faith in her else this isn't going to work at all. I can't constantly be afraid she's going to do something to draw attention to herself or to her magic - so far she's kept everything in hand when we've been in Kurashiki, and even though there has been the odd incident at the shrine, that's not really been her fault. I guess I should just trust her and hope for the best."
"Masaki-kun!"
As he made his way towards the cooking implements, someone called his name and he turned, squinting through the crowds of people as he searched for the speaker. A tall, slim man of about his own age was approaching, his long hair in a tail down his back and his dark eyes sparkling with mischief behind his thick rimmed glasses.
"I thought it was you." He said as he reached his companion. "You chose a busy day to come shopping."
"Ikeda-san!" Tenchi greeted his friend warmly. "Are you back in Osaka already? But term doesn't begin for another ten days - isn't it a long way to come down from Hirosaki so early?"
"I'm staying with my grandfather. He lives not far from the city centre." The young man clasped Tenchi's hand warmly in his, bowing his head in a mock-formal ritual. "Well, Masaki-kun? What about you? Why are you here so many days before term starts? You can't be so eager to begin work already, I'm sure!"
"Basic supplies. Nothing interesting." Tenchi pulled a face. "How was your summer?"
"Pretty good." His companion grinned. "Though most of it was spent working, I'm afraid...in one way or another. What about you? Did your Grandfather keep you tied to the shrine the whole time or did you manage to get away?"
An amused look touched Tenchi's face.
"I guess you could say I went visiting family." He said slowly. "My...my cousin was getting married, and so I went to her wedding."
"I didn't know you had any girl cousins." The other man looked startled. Tenchi shrugged.
"Well, she and her family live a very long way away." He said vaguely. "I don't see them that often, which is a shame."
"A long way away? Like America or something?"
"Or...something." Tenchi agreed.
"So did you meet any pretty girls? They do say, you know, that weddings are the best place to pick up women."
"Well...erm..."
Tenchi bit his lip, glancing around him for any sign of the space pirate, and his friend chuckled.
"I'll take that as a yes, then." He said amiably. "Way to go, Tenchi...and we thought you were all about your studies! Guess you've proved us all wrong."
"It's not exactly what you think." Tenchi said hurriedly. "I mean, well..."
"Tenchi?" At that moment Ryoko descended upon them, a till receipt in one hand and a bag in her other. She paused as she registered the stranger, glancing from one man to the other in confusion for a moment, then, "Who's this?"
"Ryoko, this is Hiroshi Ikeda, a classmate of mine." Tenchi gathered his wits hurriedly, offering her a smile. "Hiroshi-kun, this is...this is Ryoko. Ryoko Hakubi. She and I..."
He trailed off, and Hiroshi's eyes twinkled with amusement.
"I see." He said softly. "Hello, Ryoko-san."
Ryoko did not reply for a moment. Then she handed Tenchi the bag, sending the newcomer a coy, embarrassed look.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realise we would meet any of Tenchi's friends here today." She said, her tones suddenly muted and gentle. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm sure."
"Likewise." Hiroshi bowed his head. "Tenchi was just telling me about you, in fact...he said he'd met a pretty girl at his cousin's wedding and I see that he wasn't joking."
"How kind of you to say so." Ryoko offered him a shy smile, her cheeks suspiciously pink and Tenchi frowned, sending her a quizzical look. She flashed him an innocent smile, linking her arm in his once more.
"Tenchi and I are old sweethearts." She added. "But we were parted by circumstances beyond our control. When we met again at Ayeka's wedding, well, it was like fate bringing us back together."
She raised her gaze to Tenchi's, and he saw mischief glittering in the depths of her amber eyes. "You believe it was fate too, don't you, Tenchi-kun?"
"Ryoko." Tenchi raised an eyebrow, and Ryoko smiled.
"We have a special connection, you see." She told Hiroshi confidingly. "I always knew that somehow we'd be reunited...and here we are."
"Well, no doubt I'll see something of you too, then, if you're going to be a mainstay of Tenchi's life from now on." Hiroshi shot her a genial smile. "I must be going, or I'll miss my train back to Grandfather's house. But it was good to see you, Masaki-kun - and to meet you too, Ryoko-san!"
With that he raised his hand in a wave, turning on his heel and heading into the crowd of shoppers. Ryoko let out an amused chuckle.
"Well, that was fun." She observed.
"Ryoko, what was that all about?" Tenchi rounded on her accusingly. "What were you trying to pull off just then? Do you think he's going to fall for all that coy, demure maiden stuff you just threw at him?"
"You wanted me to fit in and play the normal earthling." Ryoko shrugged. "You didn't tell me what kind of normal earthling I had to play. And besides, it's kinda fun. It's not like I did any harm, Tenchi. He's your friend, right? No reason why he can't know we're together. You pretty much told him so yourself."
"And all that stuff about fate and a special bond?"
"Don't you believe we have a bond?" Ryoko opened her eyes wide, hurt plain in her expression. Tenchi sighed.
"Yes, I do." He relented. "But Ryoko, you should just be yourself. I mean it. It's complicated enough without you pretending to be someone you're not, and I want them to accept you for who you are."
"Difficult, since I can't fly or teleport around them, and phasing through walls is strictly a social no-no." Ryoko said matter-of-factly. "If you want me to play it Earth-style, Tenchi, I will. But don't expect me not to have fun with it while I do so. Otherwise it's going to drive me to distraction."
Tenchi sighed.
"All right, but the bigger the lie you weave the more complicated it's going to become." He warned her. "You can't convince everyone you're demure and quiet all of the time, you know. It's not who you are - you said so yourself - and you just won't be able to keep it up."
"Guess we'll see." Ryoko said reflectively. "I like a challenge. Besides, if all your friends are as gullible as that one, it shouldn't be any problem at all."
"I give up." Tenchi groaned. "I'm not going to change your mind, so I'm not going to even try. Just don't cause too much trouble, okay? Hiroshi is my friend, and so are the others, who I won't want to introduce to you if you're going to make fools out of them. All right?"
"All right." Ryoko poked out her tongue. "Stop being so serious. I was just having some fun."
"Well, at least you found the towels and the shop is still standing." Tenchi glanced into the bag. "So that's one thing less to worry about. Let's forget about your personality quirks for a moment and get back to the task at hand, shall we? I'd really rather not have to make another shopping excursion like this if we can help it."
--
"Yes, Tenchi-san, shop while you can."
From the seclusion of her chamber, Tokimi uttered an amused chuckle, raising her hand to disperse the images that flittered across the barren walls. "Enjoy your time on your boring, strange little world, because you won't have peace and quiet for much longer."
The light above the chamber entranceway glimmered, to indicate she had company, and a pleased smile lit up her face as the door slid back to reveal her visitor.
"You have made good time." She said softly. "I am glad to see you, Zero. Clay did not lie, when he said you followed orders to the word."
"I am programmed to obey Dr Clay." Zero met Tokimi's gaze impassively. "Why did you summon me, Tokimi-sama?"
"I have a job for you, soulless one." Tokimi's eyes became thoughtful. "A very special, particular kind of job. I was impressed by your work in snaring Seiryo Tennan, and I wish to make further use of your unusual skills."
"I am programmed only to obey the orders of Dr Clay." Zero said flatly. "He has not told me of any further mission."
"I see." Tokimi's eyes narrowed at this. "And you would disobey me, because the words come from my mouth and not from the mouth of my lackey? Everything Clay instructs you to do is on my orders, Zero. Whether I give them directly to you or pass them through him, it is the same. You are bound to obey me as well as your Dr Clay. After all, he is my servant, and you are his slave."
"I am programmed..."
"You will obey me!" Tokimi's temper flared inside of her and she raised her hand, a bolt of white light flaring from her fingers and engulfing Zero in it's beam. "I will not be defied by a piece of steel and wiring which has no spirit of her own! You may be Dr Clay's creation, but you are still subservient to me, you defective droid. Do you understand? I am Tokimi. I am more powerful than your databanks will ever be able to fully comprehend. You will obey me, or I will destroy you. That is your choice. Make it a wise one."
She released her hold on her companion, and for a moment there was silence, wild blips of light darting all across Zero's monitor as she struggled to bring herself back to logical order. At length she raised her head to Tokimi's, her form visibly shaking as she surveyed the would-be goddess.
"I do not understand." She murmured. "What have you done to me?"
"I have shown you who your true mistress is, Zero." Tokimi spoke in dangerously low tones. "All I did was touch you with the tiniest piece of my magic. It would take me very little to actually destroy your programming and render you nothing more than scrap metal. All technology is inferior to my power. Are you willing to risk a second blast, by refusing to obey my words once again?"
"I...I..."
Zero faltered, then,
"I am afraid." She whispered, traces of surprise and confusion touching her normally flat tones. Tokimi smiled humourlessly.
"And so you should be." She said softly. "I have opened your eyes, Zero. I have shown you what drives me and why I cannot be stopped. Why it would be futile to try and stop me - or even to stand in my way. And now, I will tell you what I want you to do. That is, if you are ready to accept me as your mistress."
Zero bowed her head.
"I will do as you instruct me." She acknowledged slowly. "I meant no offence, Tokimi-sama. I did not understand the true nature of your power until now."
"That is better." Tokimi seemed to relent at this, her smile losing some of it's malignant edge as she surveyed the droid before her. "Let me explain to you what I want from you."
She raised her hand and the images flickered across the wall once more, becoming more and more vivid with each passing second.
"You know this man?" She asked quietly.
"He is Tenchi Masaki Jurai, Tokimi-sama. The great grandson of the Emperor Azusa."
"Good. Good." Tokimi nodded. "Clay has programmed you with much relevant data. And you know that I seek him, Zero? That above all else I want to understand how he can wield the power of Tsunami?"
"Yes, My Lady. This I know."
"Then what I want from you is simple." Tokimi moved swiftly and silently to the droid's side, amused by the way Zero quailed away from her touch. "Listen very carefully, for this is what you must do..."