Chapter Six
"It's as I thought."
Washu sat back from her computer screen, eying her companion with a resigned smile. "I appreciate you taking the time to do this, Yume - and you've done well. You've copied everything I wanted to look at. But I was afraid that the Academy wouldn't hold the bulk of Kihaku's records and I was right. If they didn't get destroyed with the planet itself, then they must be in the library at the Jurai Royal Palace. So that's going to have to be our next port of call."
"You were planning on going to Jurai anyway." Yume settled herself more comfortably on the floor, gazing up at her mentor thoughtfully. "So it hasn't changed anything. I located everything I could. Dr Kurashida had a lot of clearance, so I was able to get into most secure levels of the Academy's files. I just wish they'd been of more help. I feel like I owe that to you, considering."
"You aren't still thinking about Manami's murder, are you?" Washu said softly. Yume frowned, dropping her gaze.
"Yes." She admitted. "Washu-san, she wasn't the first person Clay involved me in killing. In fact, he often sent me out as a lone assassin and I can't even count how many people I must have slain on his say so. But this one bothers me because now I know she was your friend. And you were so kind to me...I feel that I've let you down."
"Zero helped silence Manami. Not Yume." Washu said gently. "You must stop it. I know it's human to feel guilty, and in a way it just proves how sophisticated your emotions are becoming. I have noticed, you know, how you're better able to differentiate between levels of emotion now than you were when first you came to live with us. But you needn't dwell on Manami's death any more than you already have. I don't blame you and nor, I'm sure, would she. Manami and Clay always hated one another. The blame lies with him, and he's beyond any court now."
"I don't know how you can forgive me so easily." Yume said pensively.
"Because I know it wasn't your fault, just like I know that Tokimi wasn't responsible for the deaths of the people on Kihaku." Washu said gravely. "Guilt and responsibility don't always go hand in hand. That's something else you need to learn, you know. It will make sense...just think about it for a while. And besides, we're none of us blameless. In some respects every little thing we do affects others and their lives. None of us can really walk away and say we've never hurt someone else."
"I see." Yume eyed her fingers thoughtfully, turning her hands over as she digested these words. "I'll process that and try to make sense of it."
"Good." Washu smiled. "In the meantime, it looks like Tenchi, Ryoko and I will be making a little trip across space. But as you say, I was going to go anyway. So it doesn't change anything. I just hoped I'd have more to go on, when I got there. I have no idea if I can obtain access to the secure area of the Royal Library. Hacking my way in is probably possible, but not ideal. I suppose we'll just have to see what kind of a mood Azusa is in."
"Will you want me to come with you? Or shall I stay here?" Yume asked.
"Which would you rather do?" Washu eyed her companion keenly, and Yume frowned.
"If you don't mind, Washu-san, I'd like to stay behind." She admitted. "I want to work out the things you said - about Dr Kurashida and about responsibility. And besides, there's no reason for me to go to Jurai. You and Tenchi and Ryoko have friends there. I don't, not really. No. This is where I belong. If it's all right with you, I'd like to stay on the Earth."
"Then stay." Washu smiled, squeezing her hand gently. "And take care of Noboyuki-san and Katsuhito-dono, because they neither of them have the sense to take care of themselves, sometimes. I'll be in touch with you, and I'll keep you updated as to my progress. But you're probably right. Your programming is elaborate and very sophisticated, but it does have it's limitations. If you don't have me distracting you, it will be easier for you to figure out your role in Manami's death and why I don't blame you for it. Your emotional state still needs some fine tuning. It will give you a chance to tune."
"Yes, it will." Yume agreed. "Then it's settled. I'll do that."
"And I'll go speak to Ryoko about flying out tonight." Washu got to her feet. "If at all possible, I'd like to be on Jurai quickly...even by tomorrow sundown, if we can. The sooner I begin harassing Azusa for access to his records, the sooner I can try and help Tokimi. And that's my objective right now. To help my sister - in any way that I can."
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"Well, Detective? I trust that you're feeling better now?"
Kiyone raised a pale face to her commander, offering him a wan smile as she took in the genuine concern in his expression. Wrapped in a warm blanket, and bundled up in Mihoshi's office chair, her friend had for once had the presence of mind to deal with the situation coherently, and now, less than an hour later she was feeling much more like herself, a mug of hot tea on standby and her anxious partner hovering by the door, ready and eager to do anything to make her friend feel better.
"I'm all right now, sir. It was just a shock, that's all." She said quietly.
"A shock?" The commander eyed her keenly. Kiyone nodded.
"Yagami." She murmured. "Someone…has…been there, Commander. The drive room…"
She faltered, and the commander's expression became even more grave.
"Yes, I see." He said softly. "Mihoshi, would you leave us please? I wish to speak to Detective Makibi in private for a while."
"But sir, I…"
"Mihoshi. That was an order. Not a request."
"Oh." Mihoshi bit her lip. "All right. I guess I'll just wait outside then."
She cast Kiyone one more anxious glance and then withdrew, shutting the door behind her, and the commander sighed, settling himself down in the office's only other chair.
"Kiyone, I've seen Yagami." He said softly. "When you came charging in here, Mihoshi said you babbled something about your ship, so I sent someone down to check it out. The drive room is a mess…clearly Yagami isn't going to be flying anywhere for a while."
"I didn't expect it." Kiyone admitted. "But it made me think…well, maybe it's connected to what Mihoshi and I saw on the Seniwan ship. That's all that makes sense to me…I mean…"
"Detective." The commander looked troubled, folding his hands in his lap. "I've handed your report over to the Elite Force. You needn't concern yourself with it any longer."
"I know that, but…"
"Nobody was aboard Yagami." The commander said softly. "When I realised the extent of the damage, I had the security reports checked. The only person who has been aboard Yagami since you and Detective Kuramitsu returned from your last patrol is you – this morning. When you came tearing out of the docking bay in, well, according to eye witnesses, something of a state."
He paused, then,
"Is there something you'd like to tell me?"
"You think I sabotaged Yagami?" Kiyone's eyes opened wide with disbelief. "But why would I do that? I've had that ship forever – why would I do something so senseless?"
"Detective Kuramitsu did mention to me that you didn't seem happy flying it recently." The commander said thoughtfully. "She even said that you'd talked about raising Yukinojyo from his watery grave, which hasn't been discussed in a long while. In fact, you probably know the budget won't stretch to such a major operation just at the moment, so I was surprised to hear you'd even thought about it. Now Yagami will require serious repairs – leaving you effectively grounded at Headquarters. It troubles me, Kiyone. You're a good detective and I have a lot of faith in you. But it's true that since you returned to active service following your indisposition some months ago, well, you haven't been quite the same woman."
"There's nothing wrong with me, Commander. And I didn't wreck my ship." Kiyone frowned. "Someone else did it. I don't know what the security report says, but I'm not crazy and I wouldn't vandalise a perfectly good spacecraft for no reason! It's insane. I just wouldn't!"
"Mihoshi didn't think so, either." The commander sighed. "But she did tell me something else."
He paused, then,
"I wonder why you didn't tell me yourself, actually. When you returned to service six months ago."
"Sir?" Kiyone eyed him apprehensively, and the commander met her gaze with a sombre one of his own.
"I knew you had been injured in some way, and I knew that it was involved in the course of active duty." He said quietly. "But I didn't know that someone had made a direct attempt on your life, Kiyone. Nor did I know that it was a colleague who had committed the act – although I did wonder why Agent Tennan seemed so keen to quit his post and return to Jurai all of a sudden. Mihoshi has been explaining – in her own, complicated way – the business that led you to be attacked and one of our best Elite officers to resign. It seems a lot of red tape went into covering this up from Jurai's point of view. Someone really would rather we hadn't known the full truth of what had gone on…and I'm guessing that Lord Haru probably put it into your own mind that least said soonest mended would be your best approach once you came back to work. But even so, you should have told me - off the record if not on it. To tell you the truth, I would have kept a closer watch on you, and I certainly wouldn't have sent you out on patrol so soon afterwards. I understand you've been having flashbacks since the incident. That's a serious matter."
"Sir, I'm fine." A look of dismay touched Kiyone's features. "I didn't wreck Yagami and I'm not dwelling on something that happened six months ago! I'm all right, really I am! It was just a shock, seeing Yagami in such a state. And I know there was someone else there. I heard them…I heard them laughing. I think they were looking for something, and I disturbed them – so they decided to play with me instead."
"You heard laughter? I thought you didn't see anyone." The commander looked confused.
"Yes. I heard them. I didn't see them."
"Kiyone." The officer sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. You should hear what you're saying…my dear, you need to stop and realise that something is wrong. Mihoshi told me that the last thing you said when you passed out was Agent Tennan's name. You can't tell me you aren't dwelling, when something like that happens. And in light of the Yagami…"
"I didn't wreck my ship!"
"Well, whatever happened to Yagami, I still am far from convinced that you are fit and able to carry out your duties at present." The commander spoke kindly, but Kiyone dropped her gaze, feeling embarrassed and ashamed by his sympathy. "Mihoshi seems to have been worrying about you, too - and big as Mihoshi's heart is, she's not usually the most perceptive member of staff on role. If she's noticed something, then it's safe to say there's something to be noticed."
"Not necessarily." Kiyone objected. "Mihoshi's good at getting the wrong end of the stick, and she's really making a fuss about nothing. I mean..."
"She told me that when you've been on patrol and she's come to wake you, you've had bad dreams." The commander said quietly. "And that it isn't the first time Seiryo Tennan's name was brought into the equation. I'm sorry, Kiyone. This can't go on."
Kiyone bit her lip, looking mutinous, and the Commander eyed her thoughtfully.
"I think it would be as well that you took some time away from Headquarters." He added softly. "You've obviously been through a terrible ordeal, and it's affecting your standard of work."
"Sir!" Horror flooded Kiyone's gaze. "But that would be...like quitting! Like saying I can't do my job! And I can! The Galaxy Police is my world - my life! You can't seriously be thinking about discharging me?"
"Not permanently. Only on a temporary basis." Her superior shook his head. "Kiyone, you're one of the best detectives we have. For that reason, I want to see you make a good recovery, and I like to see you fit, happy and capable of carrying out your duty. Right now I'm not confident you're any of the above. And if the destruction of Yagami is some silent cry for help..."
"I did not destroy Yagami's drive room!" Kiyone was on her feet, banging her hand down on Mihoshi's desk as her temper got the better of her. "I didn't! I wouldn't! Why does everyone think that because I was involved in something half a year ago that I must still be involved with it now? I put my life in jeopardy for my job every day!"
"Detective Makibi, you are forgetting yourself." The commander said reproachfully, and Kiyone hesitated, sinking slowly back down into the empty seat. She sighed.
"I...I'm sorry, sir. But I'm not crazy!"
"I didn't say that you were."
"No, but sending me away is either suggesting that I am, or at the very least that I'm a liability who can't do her job properly." Kiyone said bitterly. "And whatever else I've done since I joined the Galaxy Police, I have always done my job. Always. To suggest that I'd even think about doing otherwise..."
"No, Kiyone, you misunderstand my concern." The commander shook his head, folding his arms across his ample torso as he regarded her gravely. "It's not that you can't do your job. You are doing your job, and I have no doubt that, given your own way, you'll continue to do your job until whatever it is preying on your mind consumes you and does you permanent damage."
"But..."
"Admit that you need help, Detective." The commander held up his hand. "That's the first step to resolving your situation."
Kiyone bit back her tears, gazing at her companion with a mixture of hopelessness and frustration.
"I didn't vandalise Yagami and it wasn't a cry for help." She whispered. "And if I'm not here, then where else have I got to go? This is where I belong...the only place I really do. I can overcome the other things - I'm not weak. Maybe I have had dreams - maybe things have bothered me from time to time. I'm human. But it hasn't interfered in my duty."
"And until we find evidence to the contary, Detective, you were the only one to board Yagami." The commander said gravely. "It worries me more that you deny the action so vehemently - as if you can't even remember doing it."
"But I didn't do it!"
"Kiyone, please." Her superior looked pained. "Don't make this harder for me. I rely on you a lot more than I should sometimes, considering your rank, and I won't see a good officer destroyed by skeletons that haunt her. You're not the first officer to encounter a situation which she finds difficult to handle. You're not a failure because of it. But you do need to take some time away from Headquarters...to deal with whatever it is that's bothering you. Perhaps you could visit your family."
"I don't think so." Kiyone shook her head. "Commander, this is my home. The Galaxy Police are my family. I don't..."
"My mind is made up." The commander shook his head. "I'm signing you off active service for a month, Kiyone. At the end of that, you will have to face a review - and then if you are recovered to my satisfaction, you will be welcomed back with open arms. But incidents of this nature...it can't be allowed to go on. Your trip to that Seniwan craft obviously upset you more than I realised and I was remiss to send you - I realise it now. No, some time away will do you good."
"But..."
"You had better go to your quarters and pack your belongings. I'll get in touch with your home - I'm sure your mother and father would be happy to see you."
"I'm not going home." Kiyone said flatly.
"Well, you can't stay here." The commander said simply. "I'm not going to change my mind, and defiance on your part won't do anything but convince me my decision is correct. You are not a defiant officer, Kiyone...and this out of character behaviour bothers me more than I like to admit. I will have all the paperwork cleared by this evening - come to my office at twenty three hundred hours and I will finalise your transport arrangements. So you had better make up your mind where you are going...if not to your home planet, then I advise you to at least go somewhere where you will be able to get some rest and relaxation."
Kiyone got to her feet, sending the officer a dark look. Then, without a word, she kicked back Mihoshi's chair, heading to the door and pushing it open. As she stepped out into the corridor, she was aware of her commander's gaze boring into her back and she slammed the door behind her with more force than was necessary, wheeling on the unsuspecting Mihoshi, who was still waiting patiently outside.
"How could you tell him all those things about me?" She demanded. "Mihoshi, how could you? What did you think you were doing?"
"What did I say?" Mihoshi's eyes became big with dismay. "Kiyone, what happened? What did he say to you?"
"He discharged me." Kiyone snapped back bitterly, tears glittering in her blue eyes. "He thinks I'm not fit to work and he's sending me away. All because you babbled about a couple of bad dreams and Seiryo Tennan! I hope you're happy!"
She pushed her friend away, stalking down the corridor towards the simply furnished sleeping accomodation Headquarters supplied for grounded Galaxy Police officers, but Mihoshi was not letting things go that easily, and as she reached her own small chamber, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Kiyone, please don't be mad at me." Mihoshi was already in tears by this point. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to...but he can't send you away! I didn't know he'd do that and I was just...I was worried, Kiyone! He asked me things and I...I didn't know what to say."
"Well, thanks a whole lot." Kiyone muttered, shoving her door open and dropping down onto her bed. Mihoshi stood apprehensively in the doorway, and Kiyone met her gaze with a dark glare.
"Well? Why are you still here?"
"Kiyone." Mihoshi stepped into the room, pushing the door shut gently behind her. "You're crying! But you...you never cry!"
"Only because you are, you fool." Kiyone dashed her tears away impatiently. "And because I'm angry! I don't want to be discharged! I didn't vandalise Yagami, but the Commander thinks I did it for attention - or something. He thinks I'm losing my mind and he's sending me on shore leave until he's satisfied that I can do my duty as an officer of the law."
"I know you didn't wreck Yagami, Kiyone. And I told him so." Mihoshi sat down hesitantly on the end of her friend's bed. "I didn't know he'd discharge you."
"Well, he did." Kiyone muttered. "Exiled for a month. And I was doing fine. I was all right..."
"You have had a lot of bad dreams." Mihoshi said pensively. "I told him about those...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done, should I?"
"No. You shouldn't."
"But I am worried about you." Mihoshi admitted. "Kiyone, we're partners and we have a special chemistry when we work together. You know that we do. So I know when something is bothering you. And when you have bad dreams, well, you cry then, too. And I know it's dreams about that horrible Tennan man, because you say his name when you cry out."
Kiyone swallowed hard.
"I can't help my dreams." She managed. "It's not like they matter."
"I don't like it when you're upset." Mihoshi reached out a hand, taking Kiyone's in her grip and squeezing it gently. "How am I going to manage without you for a whole month, Kiyone? Do you think that the Commander would let me come with you?"
"I doubt it. He said I needed a relaxing break." Kiyone said darkly. Mihoshi looked bemused, and Kiyone sighed, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry." She said wearily. "I don't know what to do. I know that I didn't wreck Yagami, and I am sure it has something to do with the Seniwan ship we found when we were on patrol. But the Commander won't listen and you're the only one who believes me. And now..."
She trailed off, shrugging.
"I'm in no position to find out what really happened to my ship." She concluded.
"Where will you go?" Mihoshi asked softly. "To your family?"
"No fear." Kiyone pulled a rueful face. "My mother will fuss and scream and tell me how she always warned me the Galaxy Police was no place for young women. She's probably got about six potential husbands lined up for me as it is, waiting for the moment of weakness that she can turn her bad daughter into a nice domesticated housewife...no, not a chance."
"Then where?"
"I don't know." Kiyone sighed heavily, rubbing her temples. "I haven't thought about it. But I guess it doesn't matter where. Away from Headquarters, that's all I know."
"Maybe you could go to the Earth." Mihoshi suggested, settling herself more comfortably on the covers. "And if I could borrow a ship, I could fly there and see you. So then we'd still be able to hang out, wouldn't we? And it would be like old times."
"I don't think that the Commander is going to let me go to a planetary system where I used to work." Kiyone grimaced. "Especially not a developing one like the Solar System. He wouldn't be able to keep tabs on me or on what I was up to -and I know the Chief. He's not going to give me carte blanche to go running into trouble. Besides..."
She faltered, then,
"There was someone or something on Yagami when I was there." She added, forcing herself to keep calm as the memory flooded her senses again. "And it knows who I am. Whatever the chief said, something was there. And if I went to the Earth, it might follow me. There's nothing to protect me there. It was looking for something - it must have been, because Yagami was pulled to pieces. And I don't know if it found it...but...just in case I'm it, I'd rather be somewhere...safe."
"Poor Kiyone." Mihoshi looked sympathetic, then, "Well, how about Jurai? Nobody's going to get in there so easily, right? You could visit Ayeka and Sasami and I know they'd let you rest - I mean, there's a great onsen at the palace and that's even easier for me to visit from Headquarters, isn't it? But they wouldn't let any mean nasty invisible people chase you into their orbit. So why not go to Jurai?"
"You should hear yourself sometimes." Kiyone grimaced. "Nasty invisible people?"
"Well, you said you couldn't see them, so they must've been." Mihoshi said with her usual happy-go-lucky logic. "But you know what I mean. Don't you think Jurai would be a perfect place to convalesce? And safe, too."
"I suppose it would." Kiyone frowned. "I don't know, Mihoshi. It would mean I'd have to tell them...about...why I'm there."
"Kiyone, don't be silly." Mihoshi scolded. "You're sick, so you're going to get better. That's all."
"I'm not sick."
"Then you'll be better even quicker."
"Oh, your logic." Kiyone flopped back against her pillows. "All right. Maybe you have a point. But Mihoshi, listen to me. If the commander doesn't believe me, you at least do. Something was on Yagami and it might come back. So be careful. All right?"
"All right." Mihoshi said, crossing her chest solemnly. "I swear I will keep my eyes and ears open for any invisible ship-wreckers. You can count on me, Kiyone!"
"Oh boy." Kiyone closed her eyes. "Maybe I am sick. I think I'm getting a migraine."
"Oh, poor Kiyone!" Mihoshi sounded distressed. "Can I get you anything to help?"
"No...but you can leave me on my own, to sleep." Kiyone responded quietly. "And sort my stuff out. But they haven't heard the end of this. Whatever happened to Yagami, I'm going to get to the bottom of it. Shore leave or not - I haven't lost my mind and I'm going to prove it!"