Chapter Five
The hold of the Karasu was in darkness.
In the furthermost corner, the small girl opened her eyes, blinking as she struggled to acclimatise her vision to the dim slits of light that danced across the floor from the level above. She hunched back against the cool steel wall, hearing the sound of footsteps as he moved around overhead, occasionally blotting out the light as he did so. She bit her lip, swallowing hard as she tasted blood on her tongue.
So this was it. The start of her new life.
She reached out a tentative hand into the darkness, feeling an apprehensive swell of emotion in the back of her mind as she made contact with the soft, furry mass that curled up at her side. The cabbit raised her head, watching her with eyes tinged with the faintest hints of amber, and as they met gazes, the creature let out a soft, feeble mew. The girl frowned, scooping her companion up and holding her more securely in her arms.
"It's all right, Ryo Ohki." She said determinedly. "This is going to be fun...you and me, we're going to be pirates. He promised us we would be - and we're going to have a whole lot of adventures. No more sneaking around the streets of Jurai or trying to make money peddling items at those stupid, stuck up fairs. No more rules, Ryo Ohki! And no more stuck up, stupid Royal Family of Jurai! We're going to be free from all of that. Isn't it exciting?"
Ryo Ohki eyed her for a moment, then rested her head against her companion's arm. She did not respond, and the girl frowned, a troubled look entering her own golden eyes.
"Don't be like that." She scolded. "Maybe the ship is creepy. But at least it's somewhere to be, isn't it? We've both wanted an escape for the longest time, you know that. Now we have it. We'll be fine. You'll see. And we do have each other. It will be fun, to be a pirate."
At that moment, the door of the hold was flung open, spilling light into the empty chamber and the girl jumped, shielding her eyes from the unexpected glare. In the background, she could hear the sound of laughter, and then someone placed a hot, heavy hand on her shoulder.
"Well, Ryoko." He spoke in smooth, gentle tones, but there was a hardness in them that kept Ryoko on her guard. "I think you've waited long enough. Karasu is well beyond Jurai's perimeters now. You won't be going back there ever again, I do assure you - there's nothing on that waste of space planet for you. This is the start of a new future - aren't you excited?"
"I'm ready to do whatever it takes." Ryoko faced him determinedly, forcing her fear to the back of her mind as she met his gaze head on. "I want to be a pirate, Haki-san."
"So you do." Approval flickered in the man's ice blue eyes, and even though the lower half of his face was cloaked by a sheath of cloth, Ryoko could tell he was smiling. He held out his hand, gently pulling her to her feet. "Come with me, my child. We have many things to do before the night is out. If you are truly determined to become a pirate, and to be my apprentice, there are things you have to learn. Otherwise there's no way you can stay aboard my ship - do you understand?"
"I understand." Ryoko nodded, allowing herself to be led up out of the storage hold and up the dark, rickety steps to the bridge of the ship. From there, they entered Haki's own private quarters, and he gestured for her to sit down, shutting the door and fastening it carefully behind him. Ryoko did so, perching apprehensively on the end of the room's narrow bed, and Ryo Ohki leapt down from her mistress's grasp, curling up beside her as she watched the pirate with wary eyes. Haki glanced at the creature for a moment, then a smile flickered in the depths of his cold stare.
"Well." He mused. "And I'm sure you don't even know what treasure you've already brought into my little domain, Ryoko-chan."
"Treasure?" Ryoko looked startled. "I haven't got any treasure, Haki-san. There's just Ryo Ohki and me. That's all. I don't have any money...I've never had any of that."
"Ryo Ohki." Haki reached out a finger to touch the cabbit's reddish gem, but Ryo Ohki flinched back, letting out a wary hiss. "Is that what you call her? Tell me, Ryoko - how did you come by your little friend here, anyway?"
"We met on Jurai." Ryoko frowned, scooping Ryo Ohki up in her arms and hugging her protectively. "We're friends, Haki...she and I, we stay together. You can't get rid of her - I won't let you."
"I have no intention of doing anything of the sort." Haki's eyes glittered with amusement. "In fact, quite the opposite. You have no idea, do you, Ryoko...what it is you've got in your possession? I had understood they were all destroyed - all but one, anyway. But here you are, and with a pirate ship to match. I must say, I have been lucky. I've not had a haul like this one in quite some time."
"I don't understand." Ryoko looked confused. "What do you mean, a pirate ship? And what do you want to do with Ryo Ohki?"
"Ryo Ohki is a spaceship, Ryoko." Haki said simply. "She's not mature yet, of course, and she hasn't realised her full potential. But she will, you can count on that. Karasu is a fast ship - he and I fly smoothly together since I borrowed him from the kind people at the Science Academy. But even working so closely together, he is mechanical, and he has his limitations."
He glanced at Ryo Ohki again.
"I'd heard of these crafts - these living ships. But I never had cause to see one until I encountered a bounty hunter on an errand to hunt me down. I killed the man, of course, but the ship eluded me before I had a chance to lay hands to it. It's plagued me, these months since, that I wasn't able to pull that craft to heel. But now it doesn't even matter. You are here, and Ryo Ohki with you. That makes me very happy indeed."
"Ryo Ohki is a spaceship?" Ryoko blinked. "Really?"
"Really." Haki agreed softly. "And I thought it was just a myth, that a cabbit ship could be bonded to one so young and vulnerable. Still, even hardbitten pirates learn new things sometimes. I suppose what they say is true. The bounty hunter's apprentice was his daughter, and it was her ship they flew in. Somehow she did have the gall to take the ship out of my range, even while her father's body cooled at her feet. Well, then. That makes for interesting thinking. I suppose it places us on even terms, Ryoko-chan, for when Ryo Ohki does mature, she'll be a formidable weapon in her own right. Yes, you've pleased me already, and you've not even been fully initiated into the ways of a pirate yet."
"I have?" Ryoko stared. Then she smiled. "Well, good. Because I mean to be the best pirate, Haki-san. I don't have family and I don't have roots. I can go anywhere and do anything and I'm sick of rules and regulations tying me down. I want to fly through the sky and see stars and planets I've never been to. And I want to be rich and have all the things they never let me have on Jurai. I hate not being good enough for any of them! I want to show them all how good Ryoko can really be!"
"Well, of course you do." Haki patted the girl gently on the shoulder, nodding his head indulgently at her outburst. "And I have high hopes for you, as well. You have a certain...potential, my child. Something about you."
He slipped a finger under her chin, raising his gaze to hers as he stared searchingly into her confused eyes. Then he nodded his head.
"Something striking." He added softly. "You have very pretty eyes, Ryoko-chan. An unusual colour. Your mother's eyes, perhaps?"
"I...I don't remember." Ryoko faltered. "I don't think so. Okaa-san had dark eyes. I...I think. She...she died. I don't know what happened to her. She just...died."
"Ah. Then they must be from your father." Delight flickered in Haki's expression, and he nodded. "Which is all to the good, as far as I'm concerned."
He released his touch, fumbling with something in his belt and Ryoko gasped, shrinking back against the wall of the ship as she registered the glint of a blade.
"What...what are you doing?"
"Relax, my child." Haki glanced at her, then shook his head. "I'm not going to hurt you. At least, not much. I've offered you sanctuary and fellowship aboard my craft, have I not? I wouldn't have brought you here, if I didn't think you had something valuable flowing through your veins."
"Then what...the knife...?" Ryoko faltered, and Haki's eyes crinkled with amusement.
"You did say you wanted to be a pirate?" He murmured. Ryoko nodded.
"Yes...but..."
"Words are never enough." Haki cut across her, placing his finger on her lips. "Pirate vows are sealed with blood, not promises, Ryoko. This is the true test. Are you really sure this is the life you want? Once you choose it, you can never walk away from it. Once it's done, it's done forever. This is who you will be, from now until the day you die. And this bond will mark us as partners, master and apprentice, until the end of time. Do you still want this life, Ryoko-chan? Speak now if you don't."
Ryoko hesitated for a moment, aware that Ryo Ohki's thoughts buzzed anxiously against her senses. Then she frowned, resolution flickering in her amber gaze. She nodded.
"This is what I want." She said firmly. "I want to be a pirate. Besides, I have nothing else to go back for, anyway. Just being cold and hungry and hated by everyone because I'm different."
"Then you're half way to being a pirate already." Haki laughed. "Very well, then. Hold out your hand to me, Ryoko. Palm up, and do not flinch."
Ryoko swallowed hard, gathering her courage. Then, very slowly, she did as she was bidden, holding her small, pale hand up to his rough, weatherbeaten ones. He held it still, and then, with the decisive, swift movement of someone who had done his fair share of slitting throats, the pirate drew his blade cleanly across her palm, spilling red blood out across her skin. Ryoko closed her eyes against the sudden sting of pain, determined not to cry out. She felt Haki's grip loosen, hearing a second sweep of the blade as she felt something warm press down onto her injured hand, clasping it tightly and firmly. She opened her eyes, seeing the bloodstained knife now lay on the bed beside them, and Haki's own hand was clamped over her own. In a flash she understood, raising startled eyes to him as a sense of dizziness and shock began to overwhelm her.
"You...you cut me." She murmured. "And then..."
"Your blood and mine, Ryoko. That's all." Haki released his grip, and Ryoko saw the mark in his own scarred hand. "Now we are bonded. Now you truly are a pirate's apprentice, ready to fly out into the beyond and make the world bow at your feet."
"That sounds like fun." A faint smile touched Ryoko's lips, as she sat back more comfortably against the ship's cold wall. "I'm going to make everyone remember me, Haki-san. I'm going to be Space Pirate Ryoko, now...aren't I?"
"Yes, my dear. You're going to be that and so much more." A glint touched Haki's expression and he extended a long, worn finger, running it pensively across the wound on her hand. A strange flare of energy seemed to cross their bond, as his magic seeped gently into her bloodstream, making her ever more dizzy and confused with every passing moment. Thoughts fluttered and danced around her mind, confusing her until, piece by piece, they began to drift apart, disintegrating into the heavy blur that comprised her senses. At length he drew back, and Ryoko raised her uninjured hand to her head, trying to make the world stop spinning.
"What was that?" She whispered. "Why...what did you do?"
"I welcomed you to the life of a pirate." Haki said simply. "And released you from your ties - the past that can only hold you back. Stand, Ryoko-chan. Here is the start of a career noone will ever forget."
Ryoko opened her eyes, the memories dancing and dispersing to the back of her confused brain as she struggled to remember where she was and what had happened. For a moment she almost imagined herself aboard the dark ship Karasu, but as her vision became clearer she realised that she was in an unfamiliar room, decorated in bold, strident shades. On one wall, the colours of the Balta flickered in an imaginary breeze, and she frowned, struggling to comprehend what was going on. Where was she? What had happened to her? And where was Ryo Ohki?
She pulled herself painfully up into a sitting position, glancing down at her hands as she assessed the damage. Surprisingly, there was none, although she felt like she had been put through a mangle and it took a moment or two for her to find the strength to stand. Using one of the room's old fashioned wood-framed chairs as a support, she surveyed her surroundings in more detail as she tried to piece together what had happened.
"Ryo Ohki?" She whispered, searching her mind in vain for the flicker of cabbit energy that usually throbbed at the back of her brain. "Where are you? Where am I? Why can't I get a signal through to you?"
She frowned, flexing her fingers as crackles of energy flickered from them.
"I still have my magic." She said aloud, bemused. "So why can't I find my ship?"
She closed her eyes, forcibly rewinding her memory. Painstakingly she tracked through each one, one at a time, and a frown crossed her face as she recalled the chase through space.
"We were in Sargasso, and the Daidalos attacked us." She murmured. "He shot Ryo Ohki's lasers down, I went out there to protect her and...did I hallucinate the rest? Was that really Ken Ohki or just a figment of my imagination? There was so much light, and the Daidalos exploded...no...no, it was just the laser, firing at me, trying to take me out."
Her lip curled in derision.
"But it takes more than that to slay the Space Pirate Ryoko." She muttered. "Sorry, Shank. You're disappointed this time. But where in hell am I? Those are Balta colours...were there Balta pirates out there in space too, today? I suppose there's no reason to suppose there weren't...but even so, I don't understand. Ryo Ohki's radar...there were two ships. Daidalos and Ken Ohki? Or Daidalos and a Balta craft...and Ken Ohki wasn't there at all? I wish I'd caught a clearer look, but it sounded like Ken Ohki and it looked like..."
She trailed off, as she reached the room's only porthole, gazing out with confusion at the black expanse of space that surrounded her. Instead of the dead hulls of rotting spaceships, she saw only the occasional lump of debris, and in the distance she was sure she could make out the familiar glittering track of a particular constellation. She bit her lip.
"So where am I?" She asked again. "And how long have I been here?"
"Ryoko?"
A voice from the doorway startled her and she swung around, surprise entering her amber eyes as she surveyed her companion. He was a little older than she remembered, but the thick fair hair and teasing blue eyes were unchanged by their time apart. He was dressed casually, in plain attire that spoke of no overriding loyalty to any particular clan, but about his neck he wore a slim pendant, carved with the symbol of the Balta Pirate Guild.
He smiled at her bewilderment, bowing mock-seriously in her direction.
"I'm glad to see you've regained consciousness." He added, as Ryoko struggled to find her tongue. "I wasn't sure if you were hurt badly or not - you even had me worried. I thought the Space Pirate Ryoko was indestructable. Or so you often used to say."
"Hotsuma?" Finally Ryoko gathered her senses, confusion in her expression. "But I don't understand. I thought...those are Balta colours. Are you flying with them again now? Is this a Balta ship?"
"No, this is my ship. I'm not with the Balta, although I keep on good terms with them still." Hotsuma offered her a playful smile. "It never hurts to remember your bonds, even when you've flown so far away from them."
"But where did you come from? Where's Ryo Ohki? What's going on?"
"Ryoko." Hotsuma bit his lip, and a troubled look entered his gaze. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but Ryo Ohki was destroyed."
"Ryo...Ohki?" The words hit Ryoko like a splash of cold water and she fell back against the wall of the room, suddenly feeling weak. "But...that's not possible...not my Ryo Ohki. And Tenchi...Tenchi...what about Tenchi?"
"Who's Tenchi?" Hotsuma looked confused, even as Ryoko turned her gaze back towards the porthole. "I wish I didn't have to be the one to break it to you. But, all joking aside, you're lucky you survived at all."
"No." A sudden stab of irrational anger flooded Ryoko's system and she wheeled on her companion, flinging herself against him and pinning him up against the wall. "No, you're lying to me. You must be! Ryo Ohki can't be destroyed. She has regenerative powers, and besides, she's strong. She's stronger than that. She can't be...they can't be..."
She faltered, and Hotsuma gently released himself from her grip, shaking his head.
"There's nothing left of Ryo Ohki to regenerate." He said softly. "Her power gem was destroyed also. I looked for it, Ryoko. But it was gone. It was all gone. I'm sorry."
Helplessness washed over Ryoko at this and she sank to the floor, tears in her eyes.
"But...Ryo Ohki and I have been together...forever." She whispered faintly, disbelief in her tones. "And Tenchi...Tenchi was aboard her. And Washu. And...and you can't be right. Hotsuma, please tell me this is a dream. It's some kind of a nightmare...please! I didn't...I can't...you can't be..."
"Who is Tenchi?" Hotsuma repeated softly. Ryoko bit her lip.
"A man I care about." She responded. "You have to be wrong. Hotsuma, you don't understand. Tenchi can't die. He just can't. And..."
"You already know what I'm telling you is the truth." Hotsuma interrupted her gently, shaking his head. "Because you can't feel Ryo Ohki any more, can you, Ryoko?"
Ryoko gazed up at him, anguish on her face as she shook her head.
"I'm sorry. She was a fine ship." The pirate observed. "But really, you should just be grateful that you're alive at all. You very nearly weren't. Daidalos isn't the ship she used to be - she's been massively upgraded, and very few ships can stand up to her sheer power these days. That you faced her and lived is something to hold on to at the very least. You're a pirate. You know that pirates take losses as well as gains. But you have your life. So long as you have that, you can always begin again."
"I'm not a pirate. Not any more." Ryoko shook her head numbly. "And Tenchi..."
"Whoever was aboard the Ryo Ohki died when she blew up." Hotsuma cut across her firmly. "And it will do you no good to dwell on it. You're in shock - I know you are, because I know how it feels to lose a ship you're so fond of. But you and Ryo Ohki were bonded far more closely. I realise it's a blow."
"This...isn't Gai'En." Ryoko glanced up at this, staring around her as if seeing the room for the first time. Hotsuma shook his head.
"No." He agreed softly. "It's not."
"Then where...?"
"The Nagatabi." Hotsuma smiled, a hint of mischief in his expression as he did so. "A ship I captured in a raid some moons ago. It isn't Gai'En, but it still has it's perks. You adapt - you have to. That's how things are, after all."
"What about Shank?"
Ryoko stumbled to her feet, and Hotsuma held out his hand to pull her upright. "Did he...was his ship destroyed, also?"
"There. That's better. You're already starting to sound more like yourself." The pirate sounded pleased. "No, I'm afraid not. Daidalos took a hit - and a bad one, it will be a while before she's back in commision. But Shank escaped the scene. The other ships...blown to smithereens, I'm afraid. Well, I'm not surprised. It was all I could do to keep Nagatabi out of his range."
"You were there and you didn't help me?" Ryoko's rage flared up again. "And what do you mean...did you say...ships?"
"I wasn't there. Not until it was too late to do anything but take cover." Hotsuma responded. "And there was another ship - like Ryo Ohki. I think it was the Ken Ohki, but I keep my distance from bounty hunters and Nagi has no reason to love either one of us. In fact, I wasn't intending to become embroiled in anything at all, to be honest. But when I saw it was you - and you were just there, drifting...I had to stop and pick you up. For old times, if nothing else. I'm not enough of a rogue to leave a lady to die in space."
"I almost wish you had." Ryoko sank down into the chair, burying her head in her hands as she tried to make sense of his words. "So Ryo Ohki is...is gone? For good? Completely destroyed?"
"Yes." Hotsuma confirmed. "I think she absorbed most of the blast, to be honest. If it had hit you with as much power, you'd be the one spread all across the galaxy right now."
"My forcefield." Ryoko blanched. "Did I deflect it onto them?"
"Now that I can't tell you." Hotsuma shrugged his shoulders, dropping easily down into a chair opposite her. He eyed her keenly. "You seem genuinely upset, Ryoko. How much did you care about this Tenchi person, anyway? I know it's been a while since our paths crossed, and even longer since you consented to spend time aboard my ship - but I'm curious. I know you...or I thought I did. The Ryoko I remember wouldn't have wasted time on futile emotions. I know that you lost your ship and I'm sorry. That I do understand. But this Tenchi - is he a pirate?"
"No, he's not." Ryoko shook her head. "I mean...I mean...he wasn't. He was just...from Earth. A guy from Earth."
"And were you bonded?"
"Bonded?" Ryoko started, then she frowned. "No. Hotsuma, I told you, he wasn't a pirate. But I..."
She faltered, then,
"I loved him." She admitted. "And I won't believe you. He can't be dead...it just isn't possible. After all we've fought for, all we've been through...he can't be. He's stronger than that. Tsunami wouldn't let him die. Not in such a useless way!"
Hotsuma was silent for a moment, and Ryoko was aware of his gaze on her, as he digested everything she had said. At length, he sighed.
"Of all the pirates in the universe, I didn't think that you would succumb to love." He said, and Ryoko could hear disappointment in his tone. "I thought you were above such foolishness. And not even a pirate..."
He trailed off, but his disapproval hung over the room like a shadow. Ryoko raised her gaze, eying him defiantly.
"You don't understand." She said coldly. "You don't know Tenchi."
"No, and I never will, now." Hotsuma said simply. "So forget about him. There's nothing that can be done for him now, or for anyone else aboard Ryo Ohki. We're well away from Sargasso, we're in safe Balta space and Shank won't come this far when his ship has taken such a beating. You've escaped...be glad of it. Stop dwelling on the past. You have your future to consider. Whoever walks away doesn't look back - or had you forgotten that little pirate adage?"
"Easy for you to say." Ryoko sighed, suddenly too tired to argue any more. An emptiness gnawed away inside of her as she gazed around the room, wishing that she could feel Ryo Ohki's nuzzling at her senses, or hear Tenchi's voice teasing her for some futile game. A stab of regret washed through her as she remembered that it had not only been Tenchi aboard her ship. Washu, Katsuhito, Nobyuki. They were all gone, also. And Nagi...what of Nagi?
She glanced up at him.
"Nagi's ship was destroyed too?"
"Yes." Hotsuma inclined his head. "Don't tell me you're regretting that, too? You were never a friend of Nagi, Ryoko. I won't accept that you've come to terms."
"No, I don't suppose we ever did." Ryoko acknowledged. She sighed. "I'm just...trying to understand. I feel numb...Hotsuma, it wasn't just Tenchi aboard my craft. There were others. My mother. Tenchi's father and grandfather. People who are family to me now. Everything. I...I can't process what you're saying. It doesn't feel real."
"I didn't think you had a mother." Hotsuma looked startled. Ryoko frowned.
"Well, now it looks like I don't. Not any more." She muttered, fighting against the urge to cry even as she contemplated his words. "To think she survived Kihaku's destruction only to die like this. If she'd still had her magic, she'd have been all right - but then, even Tenchi's magic didn't protect him. If what you say is true, even Tsunami isn't a match for the Daidalos cannons."
"I don't understand a word of what you're saying, now." Hotsuma looked confused. "You are in shock. You need a drink."
"I need something." Ryoko rubbed her temples. "But I'm not sure alcohol is it, Hotsuma."
Her eyes hardened, and she met his gaze with hers, clenching her fists as sparks of energy shot out in all directions.
"I need revenge." She said softly, anger glittering in the depths of her amber eyes. "If Shank survived, then I want to hunt him down. And then, when I have him, I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him for taking away the ones who mean the most to me!"
----
From somewhere deep within the bowels of the ship, sparks of light began to drift together, pulling themselves into a ghostly form as they danced and span among the cobwebs of the lower deck. As each particle glowed with energy, the form became one whole, extending long, spectral hands and legs as it stood, gazing around it in some confusion.
What was this?
The entity drifted absently across the length of the lower deck, pausing as it reached the glittering surface of an old dusty mirror. Very gently, it extended a limb, brushing translucent fingers softly against the glass. At first, the gesture had nothing behind it, and the thin, pale digits passed straight through. But, as the being's focus became stronger, it found the surface was strange and hard beneath its touch. It eyed its reflection uncomprehendingly, watching as each light particle darted and dodged into it's correct location, forming the visage of a young girl.
At length, she sighed, and the girl in the mirror sighed back, echoing her movement. She frowned, glancing up at the ceiling. From her prison, deep within the craft, she was aware of someone crying, and their tears touched at her, tweaking at her memories without waking any of them fully. Unable to comprehend why, the being stepped forward into the mirror, willing herself upwards as she came closer and closer to the sound of the tears.
At length she stopped moving, and, as she stood there, seperated from reality by a thin pane of aging glass, she saw the one whose grief had brought her to the surface. The whole ship swelled and glowed with the woman's distress, and the spectre frowned, drawing ghostly brows together as she let the pain and confusion overwhelm her own raw senses.
At length she could stand it no more, and she forced her form together, pushing through the glass of the mirror and stepping into the chamber, seeing the woman for the first time. Curled up on the room's only sofa, and quite alone, the stranger seemed unaware that she had company, and slowly the spirit approached her, wanting only to bring comfort to the distraught tears that wracked her slim, pale form.
As she drew closer, she reached out a hesitant hand as if to touch the woman on the shoulder, but at the last minute she faltered, drawing back as she felt the angry, pulsing electricity that touched the woman's aura. For a moment she just stood over her, wanting to help but not knowing how to break through the flickering energy that stood between them.
"Ryoko?"
The man's voice startled her, and the spirit drew back towards the mirror, cloaking herself in it's protective crystal as she sought to hide herself from his approach. A new sensation washed through her, and as she struggled to draw herself together, she realised that it was fear.
"Ryoko! I promise, you'll feel much better when you've had a drink of this. Then we can talk properly - work out what we're going to do. I mean, if we're really going after Shank, we're going to have to have a plan, and you know I'll back you up all the way. That devil has paraded his wretched ship through Deep Space long enough, and nothing would make me happier than to see him gone for good."
His footsteps drew closer, and from her vantage point, the spectre could see that he bore a bottle and glasses in his hand. She frowned, trying to understand what she was seeing.
At the sound of his voice, the woman started, dashing her tears away. Then, as the spectre watched, she flickered and blurred out of view, disappearing from the room before her eyes. The spirit pressed her hands against the glass, trying to sense the woman's presence, but it was distant and undefined, and she knew the girl had gone out into the space beyond the ship's confines...somewhere she could not go.
The man stepped into the chamber, and the spirit could sense his confusion to find the room empty. "Ryoko? Where are you?"
He turned, and for a moment, he met gazes with the girl in the mirror. A look of shock and fear touched his blue eyes, and he shook his head, dropping the bottle and the glasses with a resounding crash as he did so. He paid them no attention, light flaring from his hands as he took a step back.
"What did you do with her?" He demanded, and the spectre stared at him, not comprending his words. He scowled.
"I'm warning you...go back to where you came from." He told her angrily. "This ship is my ship. My ship. Do you hear me? You're gone - you'll leave Ryoko alone! She doesn't need the likes of you messing with her head! Do you understand?"
The energy around his palms glowed brighter, and the spectre sent him a look of reproach. Then she pulled back into the mirror, dispersing as she sank back down towards the seclusion of her hiding place. As she did so, she heard the man calling again, and she closed her eyes, trying her hardest to fix the name in her memories.
"Ryoko." She whispered, her word little more than a breath on the wind. "I must help you. Somehow."